A New World
by Silvolde
Summary: Hiccup leaves Berk and goes on the adventure of a lifetime in a new world...If said adventure means dealing with the White Fang and a certain bandit Queen...as well as the master of the Grimm. The sequel for this story - A Changing World - is now up on my profile. Be aware that that story is M rated.
1. Where Am I?

A New World

Chapter One: Where Am I?

A/N: Here is my RWBY crossover story, A New World.

Before we begin, this story will use certain aspects from both of the How To Train Your Dragon films as well as all five seasons of RWBY, so you should go watch them before reading this story of mine. I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it.

Also shoutout to HHH1 for helping with beta reading this story. He was a tremendous help.

Edit: Might work in some stuff from volume 6 of RWBY into the plot later on, still deciding on that.

Here we go!

* * *

"It's okay, bud. She's a friend." Hiccup assured the dragon as he stood between Toothless and Astrid. Toothless snorted in disagreement while Astrid stood frozen beside Hiccup. The dragon shot Hiccup a confused look, watching the girl with suspicion.

"You just scared him." Hiccup said to Astrid.

"Who is 'him'?" Astrid whispered, not taking her eyes off the giant fire-breathing reptile in front of her.

"Astrid, Toothless. Toothless, Astrid." Hiccup nervously introduced. Astrid slowly inched away as she had a look of disgust in her eyes. Before Astrid can turn around and run towards the village Hiccup grabbed her arm and pulled her close.

"Hiccup, let me go!" Astrid growled dangerously.

"Astrid, wait! I have to tell you something." Hiccup said to her as he looked into her eyes, then suddenly had the wind knocked out of him when Astrid kneed him in the groin.

"Oww!" Hiccup gasped out as he doubled over, letting go of Astrid's arm.

"I told you to let me go!" Astrid growled. Toothless, meanwhile, was watching the pair with interest, cringing sympathetically when Hiccup was kicked. Astrid turned to leave again and quickly ran away.

"We're dead." Hiccup said as he watched her leave before turning to Toothless who was walking away. "Where do you think you are going?"

Astrid was running through the forest, the only thought that was running through her mind is how Hiccup had betrayed the Vikings. She was so fixated on this thought that she didn't notice a shadow looming overhead until she was lifted into the air.

She screamed in fear at the sudden action until Toothless placed her in the branches of a tree. She hung on for dear life and glared at Hiccup who was on Toothless' back.

"Hiccup, get me down from here!" Astrid growled angrily. Hiccup shook his head. "Not until you listen to me" Hiccup replied.

"I am not listening to anything you have to say!" Astrid replied, angrier than before.

Hiccup sighed, realizing he wouldn't get anywhere spoke up again. "Then I won't speak, just let me show you." Hiccup said before adding "please Astrid"afterward.

Astrid looked down and came to a decision. She moved over to the dragon and climbed on behind Hiccup, pushing his arm - that was offered to help her climb onto Toothless - out of the way as she climbed onto the dragon.

"Now get me off of this thing," Astrid said

"Toothless, down gently." Toothless straightens out his wings. "See? nothing to worry about." Hiccup replied

Toothless leaps into the air, causing Astrid to start screaming again.

Hiccup sighed, "Stop Toothless! Bad dragon! Very bad dragon!"

Toothless ignored Hiccup however and continued flying in a scary manner for Astrid. "He's not usually like this" Hiccup said as Toothless stopped ascending and started diving, earning an "Oh no" from an irritated Hiccup.

"Toothless what are you doing? We need her to like us!" Hiccup exclaimed as Toothless dived into the ocean around Berk, soaking his passengers before going into a climb again.

"And now the spinning. Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile!" Hiccup said as Toothless started spinning mid-flight. He then dives once more.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, just get me off of this thing." Astrid said and as if it was a signal, Toothless straightened out his wings and stopped diving. he slows down and glides above the clouds slowly.

Alright, I admit it. This is pretty cool. It's... amazing. He's amazing. So what now? Hiccup, your final exam is tomorrow. You know you're going to have to kill a...kill a dragon." Astrid whispers the last three words in Hiccup's ear so Toothless doesn't hear her.

Don't remind me" Hiccup replied

Toothless suddenly dodges

Toothless, what's happening? Whoa, what is it?" Hiccup asks his dragon but received no answer.

They find themselves in a middle of a flock of dragons. They are carrying food en masse toward the island.

Get down!" Hiccup orders Astrid urgently

What's going on?" Astrid asked

"I don't know. Toothless. You've got to get us out of here, bud." Hiccup pleaded but Toothless ignored him.

"It looks like they're hauling in their kill." Hiccup pointed out

"Uh, what does that make us?" Astrid asked but Hiccup doesn't answer the question

"What my dad wouldn't give to find this," Hiccup says to himself

They approach the Dragon's Nest in a Volcano. Swarms of dragons throw their offerings into the lava below.

"It's satisfying to know that all of our food has been dumped down a hole. Hiccup said sarcastically"

"They're not eating any of it." Astrid realizes

A Gronckle delivers only a single tiny fish. A roar is heard from below and the Gronckle squeals in terror as something big seizes it

"What... is that?" Astrid asked no one in particular

A colossal dragon emerges from the lava pit and eats the Gronckle alive. All the other dragons cower in terror before the giant creature.

"Alright, buddy, we gotta get out of here. Now!" Hiccup shouts urgently as The Red Death lunges at them.

Toothless escapes and all the dragons flee. The Red Death lunges at Toothless again but grabs a Zippleback instead. Toothless and his riders fly off to a beach and land.

"No, it totally makes sense. It's like a giant beehive. They're the workers, and that's their queen. It controls them. Let's find your Dad." Astrid says

"No, no! Not yet. They'll... kill Toothless. Astrid, we have to think this through carefully." Hiccup points out

"Hiccup, we just discovered the Dragons' Nest. The thing we've been after since Vikings first sailed here. And you want to keep it a secret?! To protect your pet dragon?! Are you serious?!" Astrid asks Hiccup incredulously

"Yes." Hiccup simply stated

Astrid's eyes widen in surprise at his answer

Okay. Then what do we do?"

"Nothing, we can't tell my dad about this. He will kill Toothless and get himself killed."

"But…" Astrid trailed off as she looked into the dragon's big green eyes.

"Astrid, everything we know about them is wrong." Hiccup told her. "And I can't stay here and face the Monstrous Nightmare tomorrow knowing that. These dragons can be as intelligent as us humans, maybe more so."

"So what are you going to do? Leave?"

"Yes," Hiccup said with an air of both resolution and resignation. "Face it, if any of the Vikings found out about Toothless, neither of us would be alive. Not even being the Chief's son will protect me from that. I just thought you should know how I felt before I left."

Astrid looked at the dragon for a while before she turned her eyes on Hiccup, her expression pensive. "What about your dad, Hiccup? He'll be devastated."

"He first has to realize that I'm missing." Hiccup told her, somewhat bitterly. "Even if the whole village thinks I'm some wonder in dragon training he would still have to actually notice me."

Astrid frowned, thinking back to all the times he and his father interacted, only to realize that there weren't very many of those. 'No,' she decided. 'let Hiccup still believe in his father even if they didn't interact much'.

"Alright, Hiccup. I'll keep your dragon friend a secret." Astrid sighed. "What are you going to do now?" She asked him and he looked at her with uncertainty.

"I'm not sure. Find a new home out there, I guess? Explore the world, and all that." Hiccup replied honestly.

Astrid nodded, "Then go. Go see the world. I don't know what will happen but I believe you'll make a difference one day." She told him quietly. She still wasn't so sure about all dragons, but at least this one had yet to turn her crispy.

Hiccup nodded as he gave Astrid a hug goodbye. "I guess I'll see you around someday." He mumbled, not even believing it himself but hoping anyway.

Mounting Toothless, he took to the sky. Astrid watched from the cove as the black blur got further and further away, eventually disappearing into the horizon. Before long, she turned around and started heading back, hoping that wherever he decided to go, he'd be able to take care of himself.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to either of them, someone watched from the rocks above the cove, a wicked grin spreading across their face as they saw Hiccup and Toothless fly off into the night sky. Soon enough, however, they too turned away and disappeared into the night.

Several hours later, Hiccup and Toothless were flying through some clouds, hoping to find an island they could rest on. Eventually, they made their way through the cloud and Hiccup squinted as he saw an island off in the distance.

"I've found an island, Toothless! Just a little further.." Hiccup said Toothless warbling in agreement as he flapped his wings hard, rapidly closing the distance between them and the island Hiccup had found.

Soon enough, they'd landed and Hiccup climbed off of the dragon's back. Undoing Toothless' harness, Hiccup soon found himself wrapped up in Toothless's wings as the dragon laid his weary head on the ground, both of them soon falling asleep.

Back on Berk, Snotlout made his way back to his house, eager to tell his father the news about Hiccup.

He entered the house and approached Spitelout, who looked at him with a scowl of disappointment, an expression that he usually had regarding his son.

"What is it, boyo?" Spitelout asked, the scowl still on his face.

"I found out how Hiccup got so good in Dragon training." Snotlout replied, smiling slightly when his father's scowl disappeared and was replaced with the ghost of a smile.

"Tell me more," Spitelout said, and Snotlout was happy to oblige.

"Of course." Snotlout replied and opened his mouth to talk, telling his father everything he knew.

"So you're telling me that Hiccup learned how to succeed in dragon training because he has a Night Fury as a pet?" Spitelout asked to be sure that he had heard correctly.

"Yes," Snotlout replied.

Spitelout laughed. "Now when I tell Stoick about this, he'll disown his son and you will become the heir to Berk in his place," Spitelout said with a grin before heading off to tell Stoick just that, but not before telling Snotlout to come with him, which he, of course, did without hesitation.

As his back was turned, however, he failed to notice the brief flicker of doubt that formed on Snotlout's face for a moment before it disappeared, the two then making their way to the Great hall in order to tell Stoick the news.

"So you're telling me that my son has a Night Fury as a pet, correct?" An irritated Stoick asked Spitelout, who nodded in answer to his question.

"And because of the Night Fury, Hiccup became good at dragon training?"

Spitelout nodded again.

"Alright, do you have any proof of this? Or is this just a waste of my time?" Stoick asked pointedly, and the fact that neither his brother nor his nephew could give him an answer told him all he needed to know.

"Go home and don't come to me with accusations like this if you have no proof," Stoick said with an eye roll.

"But Astrid was there! She could tell you about it!" Snotlout blurted out urgently.

"Oh? Well, then let's bring her in and see what she has to say." Stoick replied, nodding to a guard who left the Great hall to find Astrid.

Astrid, who had seen Snotlout hurrying to his house earlier and had been eavesdropping on the conversation that had been going on between the trio, decided that this would be the best time to leave Berk, knowing she would likely be banished if they found out that she knew about Hiccup and his Night Fury.

When the door to the Great hall opened and the guard walked out, Astrid followed close behind him, making sure that she wasn't seen or heard by the guard. The guard walked to Astrid's house and was about to open the door and enter when Astrid knocked him unconscious, dragging him inside and tying him up.

Then, packing her favorite ax and some supplies for her trip, she made her way to the forge, an idea coming to her. Knocking on the door, she was soon met by the Gobber, who looked at her in confusion for a moment before smiling.

"Oh, it's you, lass! Come on in!" Gobber said eagerly and Astrid did so with a smile. "So what can I do for you?" Gobber asked her, and Astrid's smile disappeared as she figured out what to tell Gobber.

"I need to tell you something that you can't tell Stoick, at least not until I'm gone," Astrid replied grimly and Gobber's expression turned serious, guessing that he wouldn't like what Astrid was going to tell him.

* * *

"So Hiccup left Berk on the back of a Night Fury and you're leaving as well?" Gobber asked when Astrid had told him what had happened earlier.

"Yes, I am going to take the dragons away from Berk and go look for Hiccup," Astrid confirmed.

"Ok, well I believe you should have something before you go," Gobber replied as he made his way to the back of the forge and then returned with a book which he handed to Astrid.

"That was Hiccup's journal. It should give you some idea of who Hiccup really is. Since he's not here and you're leaving Berk as well, I think you should take it with you." Gobber said with a solemn expression.

Astrid felt that she didn't deserve the journal, but at the very least, she was happy that Gobber trusted her with Hiccup's belongings.

"Thank you, Gobber. I'll make sure to keep it safe." Astrid said as she stood up and made her way to the entrance to the forge.

Gobber chuckled lightly. "I know you will. Now go before the guards find you." He said, embracing Astrid in a bear hug. "And when you find him, you better take good care of him, or I'll find you and you won't be able to escape me," Gobber said jokingly, yet with an underlying seriousness.

Astrid nodded against his shoulder and he let go. Saying their final goodbyes, Astrid left the forge, making her way to the training arena in order to leave Berk for good.

Arriving at the arena, Astrid made her way to the cage where the Deadly Nadder was kept. She approached the cage and placed her ax on the ground as she remembered that Toothless was worried and had tried to attack her when she approached him with her ax. She then opened the cage cautiously.

The Deadly Nadder walked out of the cage with its tail spines extended as it looked around the arena, noticing Astrid standing in front of it as it did so.

The dragon would have attacked, but didn't when it noticed that Astrid was unarmed. It also recognized Astrid as the hatchling that had hit it with a shield during dragon training.

It took a cautious step forward and tilted its head in confusion, wondering why the hatchling had still not moved since the dragon had left its cage.

Astrid reached into her bag and took out Hiccup's journal before opening it and looking for info on Deadly Nadder's. She finds a page with some information and begun to read. The page read as follows: Deadly Nadder's are vain dragons. Dangerous and beautiful. They constantly like to preen themselves and appreciate compliments based on how they look.

Astrid now puts the book on the ground and reaching into her bag; took out a fish that she had taken from her house. She hadn't been sure if the dragon ate fish, considering they usually went for sheep and yaks during raids but decided it was worth a shot.

She held out the fish to the dragon, who came closer and sniffed it before taking it from her open palm and eating it in one bite.

Reaching into her bag again, Astrid gave the dragon another fish.

She then decided to compliment the dragon on its looks, like Hiccup's journal suggested.

"Hello, girl. You're looking beautiful today." The dragon perked up at the praise and made a sound of agreement, looking pleased with what Astrid had just said.

"Do you want more fish?" Astrid asked, he dragon bobbing its head in reply.

"I can give you more if you help me set the other dragons free," She said, gesturing to the other cages in the arena. The dragon paused for a few moments and Astrid began to think that the dragon had misunderstood before it called out as if to communicate with the other dragons before setting the doors to the other cages on fire.

The resulting fire burned the wooden doors in front of the cages, causing them to collapse forward and allowing the dragons inside to escape.

The four dragons entered the arena and Astrid turned to the Deadly Nadder, giving the dragon her the last fish from her bag in reward.

"Now in order for you to escape, I need to climb on your back."

For a moment, the dragon seemed hesitant, but it calmed down when Astrid spoke again.

"Don't worry, I'm escaping too, and you're my fastest way out. I won't hurt you." The dragon seemed calm again and it crouched down low to the ground, allowing Astrid to easily climb onto its back.

Astrid grabbed her ax and put it in her bag before she walked over to the dragon and scrambled onto its back. The Nadder communicated to the dragons once again, then flapped its wings and launched into the sky with the other dragons following close behind.

'I guess they are coming along for the ride' Astrid thought while she looked at the four other dragons as they flew away from Berk.

* * *

It'd been hours now, and Stoick was wondering where the guard that he had sent to find Astrid had gone and why he hadn't returned back yet. He sent another guard to find out what had happened and was waiting for him to report back, and he had a niggling feeling that he should send search parties to find Astrid and his son Hiccup, who hadn't shown up all day, now that he thought about it.

The guard returned and told him (and everyone present) that he had found the first guard tied up in Astrid's house and no sign of the girl or Hiccup anywhere.

For a time, Stoick decided to wait a bit longer in case they decided to show up. Better to err on the side of caution than stir the rest of the village into a frenzy for nothing.

But that only lasted for so long, and finally, his patience had run out to the point he sent out a search party to find them both; instructing them to not stop until they had searched the entirety of Berk. They did so but couldn't find any sign of them so Stoick called off the search party and went home.

* * *

The following day, Hiccup woke up to the sight of the pitch blackness of Toothless' wings. Hiccup nudged the dragon, who opened his wings slowly so that Hiccup's eyes could gradually adjust to the sudden brightness of the day.

After Hiccup's eyes had properly adjusted, the 15-year-old Viking and his dragon were suddenly greeted by the sight of a red portal, which appeared in front of them with next to no warning, much to their surprise and (Hiccup's) curiosity.

"Think we should go through it?" Hiccup asked his dragon. Toothless made a sound of disagreement in reply.

"Come on! What's the worst that could happen?" Hiccup asked.

Of course, if Hiccup had any idea of where he would end up after walking through the portal, he might've considered having second thoughts about his spur of the moment decision.

But he didn't, and he simply walked on through without so much as a second thought, Toothless following him in with no small amount of trepidation.

After walking through, they found themselves in the middle of a camp in a forest. The people present at the camp turned and looked in their direction, confused expressions all over their faces at the strangers that had suddenly appeared before their eyes.

'Where am I?' Hiccup thought as he looked around this strange new place he found himself in.

A woman stepped forward. She wore a shallow cut red and black dress, showing a number of black beaded necklaces around her neck. There was a red girdle belt around her waist and a matching set of red gauntlets on her forearms. She also had black gloves and leggings that covered up most of the parts of her body that weren't already covered by her armor. What drew Hiccup's attention the most, however, was the sword attached to her belt, and judging from the suspicious look in her red eyes, she wasn't too far away from drawing it on him.

"Who are you and how did you get here?" The woman asked him with a stern glare.

Hiccup gulped. "I'm not sure, all I know is one moment I'm walking through a red portal and the next, I end up here." He replied, staring at the red-eyed woman. The woman was looking at him intently for several seconds before relenting.

"Alright, take him away." The woman ordered one of the men nearby, who nodded and walked forward, ignoring Toothless while making his way over to Hiccup.

This was not the right thing to do, however, as Toothless fired a plasma blast squarely into his chest, sending the man flying away until he crashed onto the ground a few meters away.

"Calm down, Toothless." Hiccup said cautiously, the dragon listening and crooning in apology to him.

"Sorry about that, but Toothless is very protective of me." Hiccup said, turning to the woman who now looked interested in the dragon.

"Indeed he is." The woman replied with a chuckle as she looked at the man who had got to his feet and was now looking warily at Toothless.

"Since you seem to be new here, how about I train you to fight if you give me that dragon? My name is Raven Branwen by the way" the woman said to Hiccup who pondered the idea.

"My name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third and this is Toothless" Hiccup replied, gesturing to the dragon that was nearby.

"I won't accept your offer for three reasons. First I don't know you very well, Second I don't know what I would need to fight that requires training or a weapon like that." Hiccup replied as he gazed at Raven's weapon.

"Third, Toothless is my friend, I won't trade him for anything." Hiccup finished.

Raven nodded, "Fair enough, but I am still going to get that dragon. Attack!" Raven ordered her tribe members who charged instantly, eager to obey her.

Hiccup quickly mounted Toothless and the dragon fired at the tribe members as they approached them, causing them to be knocked back by Toothless' fire. Toothless then leaped into the air and hovered above the tribe's campsite.

"Why did you order your people to attack?!" Hiccup demanded.

"Because I want that dragon. After all, not just anyone can control a grim dragon." Raven replied with a smug smile.

"What do you mean? What is a grim?" Hiccup asked Raven in confusion.

Raven rolled her eyes at this. "Don't pretend you don't know. You are sitting on one."

"I really have no idea what you're talking about." Hiccup replied with a sigh. "But I guess I'll be going now." Hiccup said before instructing Toothless to fly away and ignoring Raven's angry responses as they flew away.

* * *

A/N: So this is it, for now, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to review and tell me what you liked and didn't like and I will see you soon with another chapter for this story.

Oh, before I go, I am going to state that Raven's semblance allows her to travel throughout Remnant and across dimensions in this story. This is how Hiccup and Toothless end up in Remnant in the first place.

Until next time

Silvolde


	2. Meeting New People

A New World

Chapter 2: Meeting New People

A/N: So here is the second chapter of the story. To everyone who reviewed the first chapter: Thank you!

Also, you should know that HHH1 is currently busy so I have a different beta reader for now.

Now here we go!

* * *

"Yang! Ruby! Time for dinner!" Taiyang called out as he placed a pot full of food on the table in the dining room of his house.

"Coming!" His daughters replied in unison.

Taiyang served himself some food and was about to begin eating when he heard a knock on the door. He opened the door to reveal Qrow, holding a boy with auburn hair in his arms. There was a black scaled dragon with green eyes standing next to Qrow who was looking at the boy with worry.

The boy in question looked to be the same age as Yang and was injured badly if the ripped remains of the boy's shirt wrapped around his torso were any indication. Taiyang must have been daydreaming as Qrow tapped him on the shoulder, breaking him out of his reverie.

"As much as the dragon might be fascinating to look at, the boy needs medical attention," Qrow said and Taiyang nodded, stepping aside to let Qrow past before following him into the house with the dragon following him as well.

"What's going on dad?" Yang asked, as she entered the dining room with Ruby trailing behind and spotted the dragon who was looking around in curiosity at its surroundings.

Taiyang eyed the dragon warily, despite Qrow's calm nature around the dragon. Taiyang wasn't convinced it wouldn't hurt him or his daughters. He, however, pushed these thoughts aside for the time being.

"Nothing, just need to take care of him. You should go eat in your room unless you want to see blood," Taiyang replied as he gestured to the auburn-haired teenager, who had been placed on the floor as Qrow brought a rather large first aid kit over to treat the boys' wounds.

Yang nodded and put food onto two plates before turning to her sister.

"C'mon Ruby, let's go eat in our rooms," Yang said and Ruby nodded, seemingly oblivious to the fact that a boy they didn't know about was currently injured in the dining room as Yang lead Ruby back to their room.

Taiyang then turned to Qrow.

"Why did you come here instead of a hospital in Vale or something?"

"Because if people saw the dragon, they would likely panic and it would be harder to get the boy treatment. Besides, I wanted to see my nieces," Qrow said with a grin.

"You know you could come any time right? They are a part of your family after all," Taiyang replied before looking at Hiccup.

"We should focus on him for now," Taiyang said

Suddenly Toothless started nudging Taiyang and Qrow in an attempt to see Hiccup. He then started licking the wound on Hiccup before Qrow and Taiyang could react. After Toothless had done so, he curled up around Hiccup protectively and both Taiyang and Qrow decided it wouldn't be a good idea to annoy the dragon, even if they were wondering why it had licked Hiccup's wound. So they left Toothless in peace.

* * *

Hiccup woke up hours later. He opened his eyes and was greeted with the sight of a man who Hiccup looked closer at. The man had black hair and a necklace around his neck. The necklace consisted of a cross tied to a piece of string. Hiccup also noticed he had a pale white complexion and red eyes. He was dressed in a suit with coat-tails and he had a weapon strapped to his back.

"Who are you?" Hiccup asked after a few moments.

"The name's Qrow," The man replied.

"What's your name kid?" Qrow asked

"Hiccup," Hiccup said before looking around the room frantically. "Where am I?" Hiccup asked as he looked around.

"Don't worry Hiccup, you're safe now," Qrow said calmly and Hiccup relaxed slightly.

"Where's Toothless?" Hiccup asked and Qrow raised an eyebrow. "My Dragon," Hiccup explained.

"He is waiting outside the room," Qrow said, pointing to the door.

Said door burst open and Toothless entered the room, moving quickly over to Hiccup before stopping in front of him.

Toothless then proceeded to start licking Hiccup without warning.

"Yuck! Toothless! You know that doesn't wash out!" Hiccup said in disgust as he attempted to get rid of Toothless' saliva, much to the amusement of both Qrow and Toothless who started laughing together.

Taiyang then entered the room after Toothless, making his way to Hiccup as well.

"I think we should start with introductions. I'm Taiyang."

"I'm Hiccup. Nice to meet you."

"Where did you find a Grim dragon, and more importantly how do you control it?" Taiyang asked Hiccup.

"I don't actually control Toothless. I don't force him to obey me, he listens to me and does what I ask because he wants to. Not because I am in control of him," Hiccup explained to the small audience present in the room.

"And he is from the same world as I am. He is one of the only friends I had on Berk before I left home."

"Really?" Taiyang asks in shock at this bit of information and he felt slightly sorry for him.

"Who is your master? Salem?" Qrow cut in before Hiccup could respond to Taiyang.

"Master? I don't have a master and who is Salem?" Hiccup replied in confusion at what Qrow meant.

"It doesn't matter who Salem is," Qrow replied, wincing at the information he let slip. Hiccup, however, seemed not to notice, much to Qrow's relief.

"Okay. But I promise I don't work for this 'Salem' person,"

Hiccup replied.

"Right," Qrow said, not believing a word Hiccup said.

"Well, how do I prove I don't work Salem?" Hiccup asked pointedly.

Qrow ignored Hiccup before asking him another question.

"What's that thing over there? You say it's just a dragon, but it looks like a Grimm. Care to explain?"

"Uh… Isn't that simply a coincidence? What is a Grim anyway?" Hiccup asked in curiosity but was again ignored by Qrow.

"Who are you? Where are you from and what are you?" Qrow demanded as he shot Hiccup a suspicious look.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third, Berk and I'm human," Hiccup replied, as he became slightly exasperated with the questions he was being asked and how he was being ignored.

"OK, last question: how did you find the dragon?" Taiyang asked now as he sensed the tension between Hiccup and Qrow increase.

"In Berk, we have dragon raids and I shot him down using a weapon I invented. It is why he is missing his left tailfin."

Both Qrow and Taiyang blinked before going to look at the tailfin, which they hadn't noticed was artificial.

"Who made this?" Taiyang asked, holding up the tailfin.

"I did. I took away his ability to fly and I gave it back when we became friends. But he still needs me to fly," Hiccup said, pointing at the paddle which he uses to adjust the tailfin while flying.

Qrow and Taiyang share a surprised glance at each other before looking at Hiccup again.

"You made the tail fin all by yourself?" Qrow asked and Hiccup nodded.

"Yeah, it is one of the few inventions that worked right without destroying the forge," Hiccup replied sheepishly and both Qrow and Taiyang looked at him in amazement.

"Okay, I will just need to make a call to someone," Qrow said as he took out his scroll before leaving the room and walking into the corridor with Taiyang, leaving Hiccup and Toothless alone.

* * *

"Ah Qrow, I wasn't expecting you to call. What can I do for you?"

"This will be hard to explain, Oz," Qrow said before telling Ozpin about Hiccup and Toothless.

"So this 'Hiccup' has a dragon that listens to him? And you think the dragon is Grim?" Ozpin asked after Qrow had told him about Hiccup and Toothless

"Yes," Qrow replied during the call.

"Okay. Well has the dragon attacked you or Taiyang or his daughters?" Ozpin asked and Qrow blinked, as he hadn't thought of that.

"No," Qrow admitted in embarrassment.

"Well I think that is proof that the dragon isn't Grim, don't you?" Ozpin replied with a calm tone.

"That might be the case, but what if it is only calm when Hiccup is around? What then?"

"Well you can bring the boy here and I'll see what I can do about this."

"Okay, I'll come tomorrow,"

Qrow said before he ended the call.

Qrow turned and bumped into Taiyang.

"I guess you heard the call to Ozpin." Qrow mused.

"Yes, I did. I also heard the bit where you thought that the dragon might attack us when Hiccup isn't around. Call me crazy but I don't think the dragon will attack. I mean it had plenty of chances to do so before and it didn't."

"That might be true but I think it would be wise not to take that risk, at least until we know that the dragon isn't dangerous."

Hiccup now approached them. "Can I ask you two something?" They both nodded.

"How did you heal the wound I got so quickly?" Hiccup asked as he pointed to the wound which was now almost fully healed. They both looked at him in surprise.

"We didn't but I think your dragon did. He licked your wound when we brought you here and then didn't let us near you so I think he helped somehow," Taiyang admitted.

"How did you get that wound anyway?"

"I was chased by some bandits that wanted Toothless for themselves when I ended up here. After escaping them we found a cave to sleep in but it was occupied by a strange creature that looked like a bear and had black fur and a bone white face," Hiccup paused, remembering the event. "It attacked me but Toothless managed to kill it, but not before it had cut me on the chest using its paw. The wound started bleeding and I used my shirt as a makeshift bandage before eventually passing out and finding myself here."

"You really don't know about Grim do you?" Qrow said and Hiccup shook his head.

"Alright well, that creature that you found was a type of Grim. It is called an Ursa. It is like a bear," Qrow explained.

"Wow. That's unfortunate, but you were lucky to have a dragon with you," a voice said and the three of them turned to see Yang and Ruby standing at the entrance to the corridor.

"You heard that?" Hiccup asked.

"Yep," Yang replied with a nod.

"I guess I was lucky to have Toothless with me," Hiccup replied with a shrug.

"Why did you call the dragon Toothless? He has teeth," Ruby asked

"Show her bud," Toothless opened his mouth and retracted his teeth, before displaying them again.

"That is so cool!" Ruby squealed and everyone present smiled at the young girls' antics.

"Do you want to meet our dog, Hiccup?" Ruby asked when she had calmed down and Hiccup nodded, following after them with Toothless following as well.

When Hiccup had gone, Taiyang turned to Qrow with a smirk.

"Still think the dragon is dangerous after hearing the story?" Taiyang teased Qrow.

"Shut up," Qrow said with a smile.

* * *

"So this is our dog. His name is Zwei," Ruby said excitedly, earning a smile from both Hiccup and Yang.

"I haven't seen many dogs before, they aren't common on Berk," Hiccup replied resolutely.

"It's nice to see you getting along with my daughters," Taiyang said as he entered Ruby's room.

"Qrow wants to talk to you in private, Hiccup"

"Ok," Hiccup said before leaving the room.

"What is that all about?" Yang asked

"The headmaster of Beacon wants to see Hiccup's dragon."

* * *

"You wanted to see me?" Hiccup asked, walking over to Qrow.

"Yes. You and I are going on a trip tomorrow. A friend of mine wants to see your dragon."

"Okay? Why?"

"He wants to find out more about the dragon. Don't worry, he won't try and take your dragon like Raven did."

"How did you know it was Raven who wanted Toothless?"

"I didn't actually but it seems I guessed right," Qrow replied and Hiccup grimaced at letting the information slip so easily.

"I promise you he won't act like my sister."

Hiccup's eyes widen in surprise. "Your sister is Raven?!" Hiccup said in shock.

Qrow sighed. "Unfortunately that is true. She is also Yang's mother."

"You met my mother!" Yang exclaimed, and both of them turn their heads in her direction, fast enough to receive whiplash.

"Yes he did, but if you are thinking about going to see her, that wouldn't be such a good idea since she wants his dragon and she tried to take his dragon by force."

Yang looked downcast by the news so Qrow quickly backpedaled.

"What I'm saying is it might not be the best time to go see her. We can definitely go someday but preferably after she has given up searching for his dragon."

"Really?" Yang asked with a hopeful expression

"Yep"

"Thanks, Uncle Qrow!" Yang said happily.

"Alright, now tomorrow you are going to see Qrow's friend so you should go find somewhere to sleep," Taiyang said as he approached them.

Hiccup nodded and went to find Toothless before the dragon wrapped Hiccup in his wings and they both fell asleep soon afterward.

* * *

The next day, Hiccup, Toothless and Qrow set off for Beacon Academy after having breakfast and leaving Taiyang's house soon afterward.

They were in Ozpin's office at the school, having been led there by Glynda Goodwitch, Ozpin's assistant.

"So this is the dragon that you were talking about?" Ozpin asked Qrow as he looked at Toothless.

"Yes"

"It would seem it is harmless to humans, at the very least much less dangerous than Grim," Ozpin said as he watched the dragon curl up and sleep without an interest in anyone who was present in Ozpin's office.

"But what if it is simply tame right now? What would happen when the dragon is angry? Also, how would people react if they saw Hiccup being followed by the dragon?" Qrow asked

"Hmm. Well, I have an idea that could solve our little problem."

"What is it?" Qrow asked, eager to find out.

"We have Hiccup become my apprentice, and he and his dragon can stay here, in one of the spare dorms.

It would mean that nobody in Vale would have to see the dragon.

But it would also mean he wouldn't be able to take the dragon with him into Vale, otherwise, the whole idea wouldn't work."

"That could work, what do you think Hiccup?" Qrow asked Hiccup

"I don't think there is any other option so I accept." Hiccup replied.

"I agree, that seems like the only solution," Glynda said.

"Then it is settled. You are my new apprentice Hiccup." Ozpin said with a smile before he sipped coffee from his mug and placed it on his desk.

Hiccup wasn't sure what an apprentice for the grey-haired man would entail but as he had been Gobber's apprentice before he had left Berk, he was sure it wouldn't be too difficult to learn from the man.

* * *

A/N: This chapter was mostly filler and had a significant amount of dialogue but it explored how the people of Remnant would react to a dragon that is the same color as the Grim. If you enjoyed it (although there wasn't really much to enjoy, as there was a lot of dialogue and not a lot of action), leave a review!

Until next time

Silvolde


	3. Ozpin's New Apprentice

A New World

Chapter 3: Ozpin's New Apprentice

A/N: Finishing off the Berk arc before we can focus on Remnant completely. So here is another sort of filler chapter for you.

* * *

Back on Berk, Stoick had sent out a search party by the third day that Hiccup and Astrid had gone missing. He went to the Great Hall on Berk for some mead where he was approached by Gobber.

"Stoick, I know you miss your son, but don't you think you would have found him by now if he was still on Berk?" the two-limbed blacksmith asked.

Stoick sighed. "It's not just about Hiccup. Astrid, one of the best fighters of her generation, is also missing. Besides if we can't find them, who would be picked as the champion of dragon training?"

"I could give an answer but you wouldn't like it."

"No, we are not picking Snotlout, Gobber," Stoick said. "He's not good enough."

"That isn't what I was going to say. I was going to suggest that you postpone dragon training until you find Hiccup and Astrid."

Stoick groaned before coming to a decision. "No, I won't do that either," he said before holding up his hand as he saw Gobber was going to protest. "I will postpone the training, but only until we find more dragons and the doors in the ring are fixed. Snotlout will become heir if we don't find them by then."

Gobber nodded slowly. "I'll go tell Spitelout," He said before he left the Great hall.

The day after Hiccup and Astrid were reported missing, the Vikings found out that all the dragons in the training ring had disappeared mysteriously. All the doors to each of the dragon cages, except the Deadly Nadder's, had been found charred black as if they had been burnt down.

Every Viking had been perplexed by how it happened except Gobber, who Stoick had noticed continued working in the forge as if nothing strange had happened.

Stoick made a mental note to ask him about it the next day as he took a large gulp of his mead.

Stoick then went through his chiefly duties for the day.

The next day, he went to the forge and found it empty with no sign of Gobber anywhere. He was about to turn around and leave when he spotted a sheet of paper on the table underneath the window next to the door. He picks it up and reads Gobber's untidy handwriting.

Stoick crumpled the note in his hand before storming out of the forge and marching back to the Great Hall after reading the note.

Meanwhile, Gobber is traveling away from Berk on a small boat.

'Goodbye old friend. I hate to leave, but I have to find two people and Snotlout isn't suitable to be heir' Gobber thinks to himself as he looks back one last time before sailing away from the island.

* * *

Qrow left Ozpin's office and stepped outside as Ozpin wanted to talk to Hiccup some more in private. Suddenly, a red portal appeared in front of him and Raven stepped through it.

"Hello Qrow," Raven said with the barest hint of a smile.

"Raven," Qrow said with a groan. "What do you want?"

"Is that the way to treat family?" Raven asked, smirking.

Qrow let out a humorless chuckle.

"Funny, where was that concern when you left Taiyang or Ruby or your daughter? You didn't care then, so why care now?"

Raven's smirk disappeared. "Fine, I want that Dragon and I want to know how to control it."

"Sorry, no can do. Hiccup is now Ozpin's apprentice and his dragon is staying at Beacon. You could certainly try and take his dragon but you would have to get past Ozpin, Glynda and me," Qrow replied but it was clear that he wasn't at all apologetic.

"Besides, Hiccup doesn't force his dragon to do anything, he doesn't actually control it," Qrow added.

"Why should I believe you? You could be in league with the grim or dragons."

"If I was, then I would have attacked you by now. We both know Grim hate Humans."

Raven blinked. "That's a good point," she admitted

"Ok, I will leave Hiccup and his dragon alone for now," Raven said before her expression turned serious.

"But if he goes anywhere near my tribe then I will take his dragon, and I will be keeping an eye on him."

"Ok. I will relay the message to him," Qrow promised and Raven turned and made a portal with her sword before turning back to face Qrow.

"I would like it if you didn't tell Yang about this."

"Why not? She's your daughter," Qrow stated as he looked at her in bewilderment.

"I have my reasons," She said simply before she walked through her portal, disappearing from view.

"Yeah. You're really bad at parenting for one," Qrow muttered to himself with a sigh before walking back inside Beacon.

* * *

"So Hiccup, am I right to presume that you aren't from Remnant?" Ozpin asked Hiccup, who was standing in front of his desk with Glynda standing on Ozpin's left-hand side.

"Yes, I'm from a village called Berk. We don't have Grim there but we have dragons that raid the village instead."

"Interesting, well here in Remnant we have the Grim. The Grim are creatures which attack people and are drawn by negative emotions. Emotions such as Hate, Anger, and Fear. We train people, regardless of background to protect people against the Grim. These people are known as Hunters and Huntresses. Understand so far?" Ozpin asked

Hiccup nodded. "Yes, so Qrow would be a Hunter and Raven a Huntress?" Hiccup asked.

"That would be correct. Any other questions?" Ozpin asked as he saw that Hiccup wanted to ask more.

"Yes, about this apprentice thing, what would it involve?" Hiccup asked with curiosity.

"You will be learning to fight like a hunter would," Ozpin replied. "But as you are not going to be able to enroll into Beacon because of your dragon, you will spend most of your time training or going on missions for me and as a result, learn to fight at a quicker pace than most other hunters," Ozpin finished before taking a sip from his mug of coffee.

"Ok. I'm guessing this 'Beacon' place that you mentioned is a school to train hunters and huntresses and you would be the headmaster. Am I correct?" Hiccup asked as he connected the dots.

"Yes, you are correct. You seem quite perceptive," Ozpin noticed. "That is a good thing-"

Ozpin was about to continue talking when Qrow entered his office without knocking.

"Qrow! You can't just walk in here-"

"Raven was here," Qrow said, cutting Glynda off and gaining Ozpin and Hiccup's attention.

"What did she say?" Ozpin asked while Glynda grumbled at being cut off.

"She said she will leave Hiccup and his dragon alone, as long as he doesn't enter her tribe's territory."

"I see," Ozpin muttered before turning to his assistant.

"Glynda, why don't you go get Hiccup and Toothless settled in and find him a Scroll," Ozpin said in dismissal.

"Of course," Glynda said before leading Hiccup and Toothless to the lift outside Ozpin's office.

Once they were gone, Ozpin turned to Qrow.

"I want you to find the spring maiden. She has gone missing recently,"

"Ok. And what should I tell Yang and Ruby when they ask where Hiccup has gone?"

Ozpin leaned back in his chair as he thought about the question.

"Tell them that Hiccup is my apprentice and that he will be taught to fight by me. You could also tell them that he will work for me."

Qrow nodded before standing up and making his way over to the window in Ozpin's office.

He opened it and turned into a crow before flying away.

* * *

"So Hiccup is now Ozpin's apprentice? Huh, the man sure works fast," Taiyang said and he and Qrow laughed.

"Will Hiccup be going on secret missions like you Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked.

Qrow nodded, "Yeah, and Ozpin will also teach him to fight. Just remember not to tell anyone else about Hiccup's job. It's a secret."

"I won't tell anyone!" Ruby promised

"Good. Now I have a secret mission to go on so I have to go now. See you later kiddo," Qrow said as he walked to the door.

"Bye Uncle Qrow!" Ruby said

"You better make it back here in one piece and be safe!" Taiyang said.

"C'mon, When have I ever not been safe?"

"All four years of Beacon. You put yourself in unnecessary risk, you and Raven," Taiyang deadpanned.

"…fair enough. But I'm not as reckless as I was then."

Taiyang sighed, "I'm just fed up with losing people."

Qrow nodded. "You and me both," Qrow said, deciding not to mention how he met Raven earlier, for the first time in years.

"Goodbye Tai," Qrow said before he left Taiyang's home.

Qrow found no sign of the spring maiden during his mission and after searching for a week with no leads, declared the mission a failure, returning to Beacon to report the bad news to Ozpin.

* * *

After Stoick had found out that Gobber had left Berk, he marched back to the Great Hall. Stoick got himself a pint of mead and made his way to a table. He placed the pint on the table before deciding to make an announcement.

"Vikings of Berk!" Stoick bellowed, to get everyone's attention. They all look at him. "I have an announcement to make. Hiccup and Astrid disappeared a few days ago as I'm sure you're all aware. But today, Gobber was also found to be missing and a boat has been taken from the dock," This bit of news was met with gasps of shock from the Vikings but quickly turned to angry shouts, making quite a lot of noise in the process.

"As a result" Stoick shouted over the crowd to be heard. "Astrid, Hiccup, and Gobber are, as of this moment, traitors to Berk and are guilty of abandoning the tribe and leaving it with fewer fighters as well as the blacksmiths of the tribe. Snotlout will be heir in my son's place."

The last part of the announcement was met with cheers from supporters and friends of Spitelout and gradually, all the other Vikings.

Stoick poured himself a pint of mead and took a few sips. He knew he should feel nothing about declaring his son, Astrid and Gobber traitors to Berk, especially since there was a good chance they had left by their own choice but deep down inside he felt a stirring of guilt and thought to himself if he had truly made the right decision. He, however, pushed the thought to one side and proceeded to finish his mead before going about his duties as Chief once more.

* * *

Gobber had been sailing away from Berk for several hours when he spotted an island in the distance. He changed course to make his way to the island. When he got there, he climbed off the boat and dragged it onto the beach to prevent it from moving out of reach.

Gobber then made camp near the beach before deciding to rest, as the sun was setting. While he was asleep, a blond-haired figure approached him and tied him up, before placing him on the back of a Deadly Nadder.

"Head back home, Stormfly," The figure said before following the dragon away from the beach when it complied with the instruction.

When Gobber woke up the next day, he was met with the sight of a blond haired girl cooking fish over a fire with a Deadly Nadder looking at him in curiosity. He looks at the girl again and blinks when he recognizes her.

"Astrid? Lass, is that you?"

"The one and only," Astrid replied

"Good. Is Hiccup here?"

"No, I don't know where he is," Astrid admitted.

"Okay. That's just made my plan harder."

"Plan? What plan?" Astrid asked Gobber.

"The plan where I convince Hiccup to come back to Berk so Snotlout can't become chief."

"What makes you think you could convince Hiccup so easily?"

"I might not have all my limbs but I do have ways to persuade people to do what I want, mostly Stoick by the way," Gobber said with a smile and they both laughed.

"When did you last persuade Stoick to do something?" Astrid asked in curiosity

"Getting Hiccup into Dragon training for one."

"Oh," Astrid said before they both became silent for a few moments.

Astrid stood up abruptly and extended her hand to Gobber with a grin on her face.

"Do you want to get your own dragon?"

"I would be lying if I said yes, but I am wondering why the Deadly Nadder over there hasn't attacked us yet."

"You'll find out soon. Come on!" Astrid said before walking away and Gobber followed her.

"This is a dragon that you might like. I'm not sure what kind of dragon it is though. What do you think?"

The dragon looked like a gronckle but larger in every aspect. Its scales were copper and grey in color. The dragon's tail, while similar to a gronckle, was more round and the dragon was currently sleeping.

"He's perfect! I'm going to name him Grump," Gobber exclaims enthusiastically.

Astrid smiles at Gobber's antics. "I'll leave you two alone then," she says before walking back over to Stormfly.

Astrid turned around to face Gobber.

"Do you really think we will find Hiccup, Gobber?"

"Yes, lass. It might take a while, as I'm sure he doesn't want to be found, but we'll find him someday," Gobber promised her.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I did the same thing when I was younger. I traveled around the archipelago before I came back to Berk. It is how I learned to use a forge."

Astrid nodded and looked out to sea. She wasn't sure when or if Hiccup would return, but if Gobber thought he would then she would as well.

* * *

 **Vale, two years later.**

Yang is riding her motorcycle through the streets of Vale. She eventually came to a stop in front of a club that is blasting music. She climbs off of her motorcycle and enters the club.

As she walks through the club, she sees Roman Torchwick ending a conversation with Junior. She makes her way to the bar where Junior stands.

"Strawberry Sunrise. No ice. Oh, and one of those little umbrellas."

"Aren't you a little young to be in this club, Blondie?"

Yang giggled "Aren't you a little old to have a name like Junior?"

"So you know who I am. You got a name, sweetheart?"

"Yes, Junior, I've got several. But instead of sweetheart, you can just call me Ma'am."

She grabs his groin and squeezes it painfully causing Junior to cry out in pain comically.

"People say you know everything."

She brings her scroll up to his face, showing him a picture.

"Tell me where I can find her and I'll let you go."

"I've never seen her before, I swear!" Junior said in a strained voice

"Excuse me?"

"I swear, Ma'am!" Junior corrected himself with the same strained voice

Junior's henchmen begin to gather around.

"Hmm, looks like we have an audience. This must kind of embarrassing for you, huh? Awkward..." Yang commented

"Listen, blondie Ma'am. If you want to make it out of this club alive, I suggest you let me go. Now!"

She lets go and Junior sighs in relief.

"You'll pay for that!" Junior said with his normal voice

He puts on his sunglasses and walks away from her. Yang follows closely behind.

"Oh Junior, I was just playing with you! Don't be so sensitive! Come on, let's kiss and make up, okay?"

Junior stops and turns around.

"Huh? Uh, okay."

As he leans in, she punches him in the face sending him flying across the room. That caused the henchmen to run towards her. Activating Ember Celica, she jumped into the air and punched down, sending them flying back. She took out all of the henchmen and even the DJ when the two malachite twins stepped into the room.

"Melanie, who is this girl?"

"I don't know Miltia but we should teach her a lesson."

Yang loaded another belt of ammunition into Ember Celica and took out the twins after a brief struggle. The holograms in the club suddenly turn off and a spotlight shines directly on Junior as he brings out his Bazooka.

"Ohh, you're gonna pay for this," he said. He began to attack, but in the end, was taken out by a fierce punch from Yang who had grown angry at having some of her hair pulled out in the fight. He flew out the window, landing in front of Ruby and Yang comes outside shortly after.

"Yang? Is that you?" Ruby asked after looking at Junior's unconscious form for a few moments.

"Oh! Hey sis!" Yang replied

"What are you doing here?"

Yang sighs, "It's a long story."

"But what are you doing here?" Yang asked evasively.

"Waiting for you? This is where you told me to come earlier remember?"

Yang was about to protest when she remembered that she had told Ruby exactly that.

Yang sighed and climbed on her motorcycle, "Fair enough, now let's get out of here."

Ruby climbed on behind Yang and she drove off. After they were gone, Hiccup walked out from the side of the building where he had been listening to their conversation.

He walked over to Junior who was now trying to get up and helped him up.

"When you said that someone you know would come to me to ask questions, you conveniently forgot to mention that she could fight that well," Junior snarled angrily.

Hiccup, however, remained unfazed. "In my defense, I didn't think she would beat you up if she didn't get an answer."

"Of course not," Junior snapped

"Oh shut up, or you will be in a much worse state than that. Frankly, I'm surprised that you're not dead after that."

Junior shut up and Hiccup helped him onto Toothless before climbing on in front of him before taking off and heading to the nearest hospital.

* * *

"And I took him to the hospital," Hiccup said as he finished explaining what happened to Junior to Ozpin who was in his office at Beacon.

"I see," Ozpin said as he leaned back in his chair.

"I want you to keep an eye on both Ruby and Yang, Hiccup. If you see anything like that happen again, don't hesitate to call Glynda to sort it out. Also, tell Junior that we will pay for his club and any medical bills he might have. It wouldn't be good to lose our information source. Dismissed."

Hiccup nodded and left the room.

* * *

Junior looked at Hiccup in shock.

"You're going to pay for my club and my medical bills?" he said before his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why?"

"Let's just say that you are the best information source in the underworld," Hiccup replied

"You would do all that, just for information?" Hiccup nodded.

"Consider yourself lucky I guess," Hiccup said with a smirk.

"You know what that means right? It means that I own you." and with that Hiccup's smirk became more smug as Junior groaned.

The next day, Ruby returned to Vale to buy dust for her weapon, Crescent Rose as she was running low on it. It was night by the time she arrived. She entered the shop and decided to read from a weapons magazine before buying the dust she needed. She puts on headphones and listens to some music as she read the magazine.

Hiccup was flying over Vale on Toothless with a leather mask on so he wouldn't be recognized by anyone who saw him when he landed.

He was thinking of returning to either Beacon or the forge where he worked when not on missions for Ozpin or training when he happened to look down.

It was at this point that Ruby threw one of Junior's henchmen through the window at the front of the Dust shop and extended her giant red Scythe, Crescent Rose.

Hiccup saw this and directed Toothless to the roof of the dust shop. Toothless landed on the roof and Hiccup climbed off before taking out his scroll and dialing a number.

"Glynda, you might want to get over here. Ruby is currently fighting some of Junior's henchmen."

"I'll be right there. Thanks for the call," Glynda said before she hung up.

Hiccup watches as more of Junior's henchmen emerge from the shop and made a mental note to question him about it later. Hiccup decided to record Ruby's fight as it progressed.

The henchmen run at Ruby, who spins around on top of her scythe and kicks the first approaching criminal in the face.

She gets Crescent Rose out of the ground and fires it off to hit another one with the butt of her weapon, sending him flying.

She fires again and brings the side down on one attacker and dodges the next's gunfire with her rifle's speed, getting close enough to knock him into the air and follow him upwards so she can beat him away to Roman's feet.

Hiccup watches as a man wearing a white coat, a bowler hat, and carrying a cane walks from the shop last. Hiccup identifies him as Roman Torchwick, a man known for many dust shop robberies throughout Vale who the police had been trying to catch for a while now.

Police sirens could now be heard, indicating that the police were on their way.

"You were worth every cent. Truly, you were." Roman says as he drops his cigar on the ground and crushes it with his cane before looking at Ruby.

"Well, Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening, and as much as I'd love to stick around-" he pauses as he raises his cane and opens the bottom to reveal that the cane is a rifle with a cross grid.

"-I'm afraid this is where we part ways."

Roman unleashes a red blast at Ruby, who fires at the ground with her scythe and leaps over it. When she lands and looks up, Roman isn't there and is climbing up a ladder on a nearby building.

Ruby turns to the onlooking shopkeeper of the dust shop.

"You okay if I go after him?"

The shopkeeper gives a short "Uh huh," and Ruby sets off.

Roman makes it to the roof, with Ruby high-flying again and landing right behind him.

"Hey!" Ruby said.

Roman stopped at the edge. "Persistent…" He muttered

Ruby readies to fight him, but a getaway Bullhead rises up and the hatch opens to allow Roman inside.

Roman turns around and holds up a red Dust gem.

"End of the line, Red"

He throws it out at her feet and fires at her, resulting in a large explosion.

"Whoa-ho-ho-ho!" Roman laughs

Roman, however, stops laughing when he sees something on the roof Huh?

A woman in a purple cape is now in front of Ruby, casting a circle of protection over them with her wand.

As Ruby looks on, Glynda Goodwitch waves her weapon and summons several streaks of purple at the craft.

Roman is thrown around in the back until he goes to the cockpit, where a woman in red, her face unseen, is struggling with the controls.

"We got a Huntress!" He says

The woman gets up and heads toward the back as Roman takes the controls.

Glynda glows purple for a moment and aims another blast above the craft, resulting in a dark storm-cloud right over the jet.

Roman looks at the cloud in surprise. "The hell...?"

With a flick of her wand, large jagged hail starts falling that pummels the jet and even breaks through the window, narrowly missing Roman's head.

The woman reaches the back and her arms and chest light up like fire, aiming a burst of energy at Glynda.

The Huntress blocks it, but the flame splatters behind her and glows hot with the enemy's raised hand. Glynda back-flips out of the explosion, which destroys part of the roof, and magically gathers the shards to create a large arrow, which she throws at the craft.

The fiery woman shatters the arrow with several blasts, but it reforms just in time to hit the side of the jet. The wreckage separates and reshapes into more arrows that encircle the jet, but the woman summons several glowing rings around herself that expand and destroy the shards.

Ruby, finally acting, reverts her scythe into its rifle form to fire at the woman, who blocks each shot and creates several blazing circles around her two opponents. Glynda telekinetically pushes Ruby and rolls herself out of the explosion radius; looking up to see the hatch close and the craft fly away.

Ruby looks at Glynda. "You're a Huntress!" Ruby exclaims, putting on a pleading, awe-stricken face. "Can I have your autograph?!"

Glynda shakes her head. "You need to come with me," she says sternly and Ruby gulps before being led away by Glynda. Hiccup now leaves the roof on Toothless' back to confront Junior again.

"I hope that you realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, young lady. You put yourself and others in great danger."

"They started it!" Ruby exclaims indignantly

"If it were up to me, you'd be sent home… With a pat on the back…" she pauses as she notices Ruby's smile "...and a slap on the wrist."

She demonstrates with her riding crop, which Ruby barely avoids as she gives out an "Eeek!"

"But… there is someone here who would like to meet you." Glynda says.

She moves out of the way so a surprised Ruby can see a man in green come through the doorway, holding a mug and a plate of cookies.

"Ruby Rose…" Ozpin says as he leans in to look at her face

"You… have silver eyes."

"Uh, um…" Ruby replies nervously

"So! Where did you learn to do this?" he gestured with his head at the Scroll showing Ruby's fighting that Hiccup had filmed and sent him.

"S-Signal Academy."

"They taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?" Ozpin asked pointedly.

"Well, one teacher in particular."

"I see…"

He puts the cookies on the table in front of Ruby.

She tentatively picks one up, eats it in a single bite, and then, not seeing any rebuttal, shovels the rest into her mouth.

"It's just that I've only seen one other scythe-wielder of that skill before. A dusty, old crow…" Ozpin says.

Ruby, mumbling through her full mouth, "Oh! That's my uncle!" she then swallows and wipes her mouth, embarrassed.

"Sorry. That's my Uncle Qrow! He's a teacher at Signal. I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing. And now, I'm all like— Hooowaaah! Witchaaaa!" Ruby states as she proceeds to make some karate-style poses and noises.

"So I've noticed." Ozpin places his cup on the table as he leans in, then sits down opposite Ruby.

"And what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?"

"Well… I want to be a Huntress."

"You want to slay monsters?" Ozpin asked

"Yeah! I only have two more years of training left at Signal! And then I'm going to apply to Beacon!"

She starts talking faster and faster with her enthusiasm growing.

"You see, my sister's starting there this year, and she's trying to become a Huntress, and I'm trying to become a Huntress 'cause I wanna help people. My parents always taught us to help others, so I thought, Hey, I might as well make a career out of it!"

Ruby giggles before continuing.

"I mean the police are alright, but Huntsmen and Huntresses are just so much more romantic and exciting and cool and really, gosh, you know!" she stares at the two with a wide, crazy smile as she stops talking.

Glynda and Ozpin study her.

"Do you know who I am?" Ozpin askes Ruby

"You're Professor Ozpin. You're the headmaster at Beacon."

Ozpin smiles. "Hello."

"Nice to meet you."

"You want to come to my school?"

"More than anything."

Ozpin exchanges glances with Glynda, who shows her disapproval with a "Hmmph" before he turns back to Ruby.

"Well, okay."

Ruby smiles, wide-eyed and open-mouthed at this.

"Really? You would let me into Beacon just like that?" Ruby asked and Ozpin nodded.

Ruby squealed in happiness and Ozpin smiled before turning to Glynda.

"Escort Ruby Rose back home to patch. I'm sure she will have good news to tell her family. Also, tell my apprentice to come to my office as soon as possible," Ozpin said.

"Right away Oz," Glynda said as she and ruby left the room.

Ozpin left soon after and made his way back to beacon.

* * *

Junior was sitting up in bed in his room at the hospital when the door opened and Hiccup walked in.

"I guess you found out about Roman and my men."

"Oh, I did more than find out, I was there, on the roof of the dust shop," Hiccup replied dryly.

Junior winced. "I'm dead aren't I?"

Hiccup shook his head.

"I don't kill people. Besides, I think you being beaten up by Yang was bad enough."

Junior blinked. "You know her name? Why didn't you tell me?"

"You never asked."

"…Fair enough. So what happens now?"

"You get better and you fix your club. Then find out what Roman is up to. You're my informant after all," Hiccup said before walking to the door.

Hiccup turned around again. "I'll make sure Yang doesn't come to beat you up again," he said before leaving the room.

Hiccup took out his scroll and texted Yang. 'When I told you that Junior could have information on where Raven is, I didn't mean you should beat him up. So please don't beat up Junior again. I need my informants alive.'

He received a reply a few minutes later.

'Sorry Hiccup. But it is frustrating to look for Raven and get no clue as to where she could be. I guess I took my anger on Him.'

'That's Ok. If I was in your position I would probably act the same way. Alright, I have to go now. Bye.'

Hiccup now climbed onto Toothless' back and headed to Beacon as he had received a text from Glynda which told him that Ozpin wanted to see him.

* * *

"Good job on calling Glynda when you did. If she had not been there, Ruby may have been killed by Roman, according to what Glynda told me," Ozpin said with a smile.

"Thank you, sir."

Ozpin nodded. "Speaking of Ruby, she will be joining her sister Yang at Beacon with us."

"Ok."

"I want you at Beacon throughout their time studying. At least throughout the school day. When lessons aren't being taught, you may train or go to your forge in Vale."

"Does that include missions?"

"No, missions are more important than school, at least you learn more outside of school in a shorter amount of time."

"Ok. So essentially I pretend to be a teacher?" Hiccup asked.

Ozpin nodded. "Exactly. Since Junior is …inactive for now, I want you to keep an eye on Tucson for obvious reasons. It also would be a good idea to keep Toothless hidden as well as you can, especially since we will have Faunus students here soon. That will be all for now. Dismissed."

Hiccup nodded and left Ozpin's office, making his way to his room in Beacon where Toothless was already sleeping. He changed into his pajamas and climbed into bed, falling asleep a few minutes later.

* * *

A/N: The story will now be focusing on the events in RWBY. Next chapter will involve the first few episodes of the show that take place during the first few days.

I shall you all soon.

Until next time,

Silvolde.


	4. Welcome To Beacon

A New World

Chapter 4: Welcome to Beacon

* * *

Hiccup opened his eyes and looked out the window. It was still dark outside, but he knew he had to take Toothless away from Beacon before the sun rose or else people would be able to see Toothless flying over the city.

Hiccup climbed out of bed and hurried to get dressed before turning to Toothless, who was still asleep.

"C'mon you overgrown cat, we need to go flying," Hiccup said and Toothless woke up at the word 'flying'.

"I still haven't got a clue how you do that," Hiccup chuckled as he placed the saddle on his back and led him out of the room.

Once they made it outside, Hiccup climbed onto Toothless' back and they took off, heading to Hiccup's forge in Vale at top speed.

They landed outside Hiccup's forge, a small building with the words "Haddocks Lodge" painted above the front door. Hiccup climbed off Toothless' back and led the dragon inside where he took off Toothless's saddle and artificial fin before the dragon went to the corner of the room.

Toothless breathed out stream of flames and moved in a circle before lying down to sleep.

Hiccup placed a basket of fish nearby and Toothless looked at him.

"When you get hungry, you can have some fish you overgrown cat," Hiccup said and Toothless huffed. Hiccup chuckled and moved to the door.

"I'll see you later bud," and he heard Toothless croon, in acknowledgement as he left the forge, locking the door behind him. He then made his way back to Beacon as the sun began to rise.

Yang Xiao Long tackled her sister in a hug aboard the large airship to Beacon, crushing the air out of her.

"Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!"

"Please stop," Ruby pleaded as she gasped for breath.

"But I'm so proud of you!" Yang said after letting go of Ruby.

"Really Sis, it was nothing."

Yang shot her an incredulous look. "What do you mean? It was incredible! Everyone at Beacon is going to think you're the bee's knees."

"I don't want to be the "bee's knees", okay? I don't want to be any kind of knees! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees."

"What's with you? Aren't you excited?"

"Of course I'm excited... I just…" Ruby sighed before continuing "I got moved ahead two years. I don't want people to think I'm special or anything."

Yang went over and gave her sister a one-armed hug. "But you are special," she said softly The girls' attention is drawn to the newscast on Vale News Network playing nearby, talking about the robbery and showing Roman's mugshot.

"The robbery was led by nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you, Lisa."

The mugshot changes to Lisa Lavender, with a photo of animal-eared demonstrators holding signs saying "WE ARE NOT ANIMALS!" followed by an image of the logo of a growling red wolf's head with three scratch marks.

"Thank you, Cyril. In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization has now disrupted…"

The news feed is cut off as a hologram of Glynda replaces it.

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon!" Glynda said

"Who's that?" Yang asked

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch."

"Oh."

"You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."

Glynda's hologram disappears when she finished speaking and Ruby let out a cry of surprise along with the other students.

"Oh, wow! Look, you can see Signal from up here!" Ruby says as she and other students look through the glass walls at the town of Vale below. "I guess home isn't too far after all!"

"Beacon's our home, now," Yang says.

The two heard a passenger groaning and hunched over nearby, running to the back of the ship.

"Well... I guess the view isn't for everyone," Yang says before she rolls her eyes.

"It was a nice moment while it lasted." The ship approached Beacon across a large body of water, getting closer to the school with each passing second.

"I wonder who we're gonna meet! I just hope they're better than Vomit Boy. Oh, Yang, gross! You have puke on your shoe!" Ruby says as she looks away from the window

"Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross!" Yang says in disgust before approaching Ruby who backs away.

"Get-Get away! Get away from me! Get away from me! Get away from me! Get away from me!" Ruby says to no avail.

Hiccup is greeted to a view of several ships carrying students and docking at the entrance of the school. As soon as one lands, a blond-haired, blue eyed boy emerges and goes over to the nearest trash can, hunching over it as he loses his lunch.

Ruby and Yang, alongside several other students, walk out of the ship and head down the paved path to the front of the school.

As Yang and Ruby take in the entirety of Beacon Academy, they both look around in awe. "Wow..." The sisters say in unison.

"The view from Vale's got nothing on this!" Yang exclaims.

"Ohmygosh, sis! That kid's got a collapsible staff! And she's got a fire sword!" Ruby says excitedly. she tries getting closer, but Yang pulls her sister by the hood. "Ow! Ooww!" Ruby says.

"Easy there, little sister. They're just weapons!" Yang replies

Ruby looks shocked at this statement. "'Just weapons'? They're an extension of ourselves! They're a part of us! Oh, they're so cool!"

"Well, why can't you swoon over your own weapon? Aren't you happy with it?" Yang asks

Ruby transforms her weapon into its scythe form. "Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose! I just really like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people, but better..."

Yang playfully pushes her sister's hood down over her face. "Ruby, come on, why don't you go try and make some friends of your own?"

Ruby takes off her hood. "But... why would I need friends if I have you?"

"Well..." in a flash, a group of other students surround Yang. "Actually, my friends are here. Gotta go catch up. 'Kay, see ya, bye!" Yang replies and they all dash down the road.

Ruby ends up spinning and dizzy-eyed from Yang's sudden exodus.

"Wait, where are you going?! Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we have dorms?" Ruby stops for a moment, still reeling. "I don't know what I'm doing..."

Ruby falls backwards into a luggage cart, sending cases flying. Someone is standing over her.

"What are you doing?!" A white haired girl demands

Ruby gets up using her hands.

"Uh, sorry!" Ruby replies

"Sorry?! Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?"

Ruby holds a case up. "Uuhhh..."

"Give me that!" the girl says before she snatches the luggage from Ruby and opens it to reveal its twinkling-sounding contents.

"This is Dust - mined and purified from the Schnee quarry!"

"Uuuhhhh..." Ruby replies, unsure of what to say.

"What are you, brain-dead?" the girl asks as she holds out a vial of red Dust and shuts the case.

"Dust! Fire, water, lightning, energy!"

"I… I know…" Ruby stammers before she starts coughing from the Dust pouring into her face.

"Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in? What do you have to say for yourself?!" The girl demands in frustration.

Ruby, who had been receiving more and more Dust to her face, finally sneezes, which erupts into a full-blown explosion of flame, snowflakes, and electricity right onto the girl.

The bottle she had been holding flies over the courtyard and at the feet of another girl with black hair and a ribbon, tied in a bow. The girl picks up the bottle and notices the Schnee Dust Company logo on the side as she reads from a book and looks over at the scene.

The girl, who was now covered in soot, though it quickly disappears.

"Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!"

"I'm really, really sorry!" Ruby says as she is rather embarrassed.

"Ugh, you complete dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?"

"Well, I-I…" Ruby stammered

"This isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and practice, you know! We're here to fight monsters, so... watch where you're going!"

"Hey, I said I was sorry, princess!" Ruby snaps, finally fed up.

"It's heiress, actually." The two girls look over as a new girl approaches with the bottle of dust.

"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."

"Finally! Some recognition!" Weiss says with a smug smile.

"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners." The black-haired girl with the bow on continued.

Weiss gets angry again as Ruby chuckles.

"Wha- How dare- The nerve of... Ugh!" weiss gets up in Blake's face and takes the bottle from her. Before turning off and facing Hiccup, who decided to intervene at this point.

"Where exactly do you think you're going?" Hiccup asks.

"Away from them!" Weiss says as she gestures at Ruby and the black-haired girl who were nearby. "Let me go!" Weiss demanded, as she turned back to Hiccup.

"Yeah…no," Hiccup replied. "Unless you want to go home, you will listen to me."

"What! I am Weiss Schnee of the Schnee dust company! You're just a-"

"Just a what? By all means continue that sentence while talking to someone who works for Ozpin," Hiccup replied.

Weiss looks at him in shock. "You work for Ozpin?" she asked

"Yes."

"Then get rid of her!" she snapped, pointing at Ruby.

"Why? They haven't done anything wrong."

"She blew a hole in the courtyard!" Weiss exclaimed

"Ah, yes. An explosion that was caused by dust. Dust that you took out of a suitcase and waved in a girl's face. An explosion that you caused. Now tell me, what did you think would happen if you waved explosive powder near someone's face? I would think that it would explode if said person happened to sneeze," Hiccup said.

"How dare you talk to me like that!" Weiss shouted before walking off in a huff as her helpers gather the luggage and follow.

"I promise I'll make this up to you!" Ruby says to the storming Weiss, as she is still sorry.

Ruby sighed, "I guess I'm not the only one having a rough first day… So, what's…" Ruby trails off as she sees the other girl walking off as well, then collapses to the ground on her back.

"Welcome to Beacon..." She remained this way until a shadow came over her.

"You okay there Ruby?" Hiccup asks.

"Could be worse, I guess."

Hiccup sighs, "Sorry about Weiss. Speaking of, I would like to see the look on her face when Ozpin ignores her attempt to get me fired."

Ruby smiles at this. "I would too."

"Ah there is the Ruby I know," Hiccup says with a chuckle. "I have to go now, but I think he could be a good person to talk to," Hiccup says, pointing.

Ruby looks where Hiccup is pointing and is greeted by the sight of the boy who threw up on the ship approaching her and Hiccup.

"Good luck!" Hiccup says with a wink before walking off.

The boy holds out his hand when he reaches Ruby. "Hey…I'm Jaune."

Ruby takes his hand before standing up "Ruby. Aren't you the guy that threw up on the ship?"

* * *

Beacon, on the inside, had walls filled with scenic trees, arching architecture, and a winding road alongside a river, down which Ruby and Jaune are walking.

"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on!"

Ruby laughs "Look, I'm sorry! Vomit Boy was the first thing that came to mind."

"Oh, yeah? What if I called you Crater Face?" Jaune snarked in reply

Ruby pouts. "Hey, that explosion was an accident!"

"Well, the name's Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue - ladies love it!"

Ruby looks at him skeptically. "Do they?"

"They will! Well, I-I hope they will. My mom always says that... Never mind."

Ruby giggles before a short, awkward silence falls.

"So... I got this thing!" Ruby announces in an attempt to break the silence between them. She pulls out Crescent Rose and stabs it into the ground.

"Whoa! Is that a scythe?" Jaune asks

Ruby grins. "It's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle!"

"A-wha…?"

Ruby cocks her weapon with a smile. "It's also a gun."

"Oh. That's cool!" Jaune replies

"So what've you got?" Ruby asks

"Oh! I, uh…" Jaune trails off as he unsheathes a blade. "I got this sword!"

"Ooooohh!" Ruby squeals in delight.

"Yeah, and I've got a shield, too!" Jaune replies as he gets his scabbard, raises his arm and expands the metal into his defense.

Ruby touches the shield. "So, what do they do?"

Jaune fumbles with the shield as it retracts off his arm, expands, and retracts again before putting it back in place and finally shrinking it down for good, placing it on his belt.

"The shield gets smaller, so when I get tired of carrying it, I can just…put it away…" Jaune says

"But… wouldn't it weigh the same?" Ruby points out

Jaune looks at his shield dejectedly.

"Yeah, it does…"

Ruby giggles. "Well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons, sooo…I guess I did go a little overboard when designing it."

"Wait - you made that?!" Jaune asks, shocked

"Of course! All students at Signal forge their own weapons! Didn't you make yours?" Ruby asks Jaune.

"It's a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war."

"Sounds more like a family heirloom to me!" Ruby laughs. "Well, I like it! Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days."

Jaune sheaths his sword. "Yeah, the classics…"

Ruby moves the conversation on again. "So why'd you help me out back there? In the courtyard?"

Jaune walks alongside her. "Eh, why not? My mom always says, 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet.'"

"Hmm." Ruby muses before she looks around. "Hey, where are we going?"

"Oh, I don't know! I was following you. Y-You think there might be a directory? Maybe a food court? Some kind of recognizable landmark? Is, uh... Is that a no?"

Ruby laughs at this. "That's a no."

* * *

Elsewhere in Beacon, Weiss is trying to find out the way to the Headmaster's Office to report Hiccup.

'I'll teach him not to mess with me,' Weiss thinks to herself.

"Miss schnee, are you lost?" Hiccup teased as he approached her.

"N-No! I don't need your help!" Weiss snapped before she paused. "Why do you want to help me anyway?" Weiss asked, looking at him."

"Because it is part of my job to help students. But the main reason is I want to see the look on your face when your attempt to get me fired doesn't work," Hiccup admitted with a smirk.

Weiss huffed and started walking away.

"His office is that way," Hiccup said, pointing in the opposite direction to where Weiss was heading.

Weiss flushed red in embarrassment. "Alright, lead the way."

"As you wish, milady. Right this way," Hiccup replied. Weiss rolled her eyes and followed Hiccup as he walked away.

* * *

"So you want to report Hiccup because he was being a staff member? Have I got that right?" Ozpin asked, taking a sip of coffee as he leaned back in his chair and fixed Weiss with a pointed stare.

"Y-Yes sir," Weiss said, flinching under Ozpin's gaze.

"Report rejected," Ozpin said, fulfilling Hiccup's earlier statement about what Ozpin would do.

The look on Weiss' face was priceless and Hiccup couldn't stop himself from laughing. Glynda was also smiling, a rare event for the woman in question.

Hiccup held up his scroll and took a few pictures of Weiss' expression. Weiss, who had froze on the spot, was broken out of her reverie when Hiccup set the camera to flash as the final picture was taken.

"But why?" Weiss asked, aghast.

"Because I'm not prepared to believe that Ruby Rose, would have the money or the reason for carrying enough dust to fill several suitcases. Not when the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company is at the scene of the incident. And we all know that Dust is highly dangerous. So much so, that it begs the question what you were doing, waving it in another students face?"

Weiss struggled to come up with an answer so Ozpin continued.

"Now that this has already happened, I suggest we move on. Are we in agreement?" Ozpin asked, looking at Glynda, Weiss and Hiccup in turn.

All three of them nodded, however Weiss was somewhat reluctant to do so.

"Ok. Now that this matter is settled, you may go now. Dismissed," Ozpin said, and Weiss left the room.

"Hiccup, I think it is nearly time for my speech. Do you want to come along?"

"Yes sir."

Ozpin nodded. "Good. Follow me."

* * *

Ruby and Jaune now enter Beacon Academy's giant auditorium, filled to the brim with people. Ruby looks over when she hears Yang's voice.

Yang waves at her sister. "Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!"

Ruby looks at Jaune. "Oh! Hey, I-I gotta go! I'll see you after the ceremony!" before she leaves quickly

"Hey, wait!" Jaune sighs. "Ah, great. Where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky girl to talk to?!" Jaune moves on to reveal a certain red headed girl standing behind him, hands on her hips as she watches him walk away.

Ruby joins Yang with her arms crossed. "How's your first day going, little sister?"

"You mean since you ditched me and I exploded?"

"Yikes! Meltdown already?"

"No, I literally exploded a hole in front of the school! And there was some fire, and I think some ice…?"

Yang smiles broadly at this. "Are you being sarcastic?" she asks

Ruby scoffs unaware that Weiss is right next to her. "I wish! I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me, and then I sneezed, and then I exploded, and then she yelled at me again, and I felt really, really bad, and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me!"

"You!" Weiss shouts

Ruby quickly jumps into her sister's arms.

"Oh, God, it's happening again!"

"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!"

"Oh my God, you really exploded." Yang deadpanned.

"It was an accident!" Ruby says before climbing out of Yang's arms. "It was an accident!" she repeats. Weiss holds up a pamphlet titled "DUST for dummies and other Inadequate Individuals" in front of Ruby.

"What's this?" Ruby asked

Weiss starts listing off policies to a clueless and horrified Ruby, going faster and higher pitched with each word.

"The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product. Although not mandatory, the Schnee Family highly encourages their customers to read and familiarize themselves with this easy to follow guide to Dust applications and practices in the field."

"Uuhhh…?"

"You really wanna start making things up to me?"

"Absolutely?" Ruby says, unsure of what to say.

Weiss hands the pamphlet to Ruby. "Read this, and don't ever speak to me again."

"Look, uh, it sounds like you two just got off on the wrong foot. Why don't you start over and try to be friends, okay?" Yang cuts in.

Ruby puts the pamphlet away. "Yeah! Great idea, sis!" Ruby holds out her hand as she clears her throat.

"Hello, Weiss! I'm Ruby! Wanna hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies!"

Weiss appears seemingly enthusiastic.

"Yeah! And we can paint our nails and try on clothes and talk about cute boys, like tall, blond, and scraggly over there!" Weiss replied, pointing at Jaune who was behind her.

"Hm?" Jaune said, but was ignored

"Wow, really?!" Ruby replies, hopefully

"No," Weiss said flatly with a glare

The girls' attention is drawn to the stage, where Professor Ozpin is readying the microphone, with Hiccup and Glynda on either side of him.

"I'll…keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction," With that statement some of the students started to whisper amongst themselves. "You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

As Ozpin leaves, Glynda steps up to talk.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins, be ready. You are dismissed."

"He seemed kind of… off," Yang said.

"It's almost like he wasn't even there," Ruby agreed.

Jaune approached Weiss from the side. "I'm a natural blond, you know!" He said

Weiss put her hand to her face in exasperation.

The first night at Beacon, students are splayed out in sleeping bags. Ruby, in her pajamas and with a sleeping mask around her head, was writing in a journal when Yang crashed next to her, similarly dressed.

"It's like a big slumber party!" Yang exclaimed.

Ruby not looking up replied.

"I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys, though."

"I know I do!" Yang purrs as she watches several muscular, shirtless guys… and Jaune, dressed in footie pajamas, waving to her, which makes her groan before she returns her attention to Ruby.

"What's that?" She asks

"A letter to the gang back at Signal. I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going."

"Aw, that's so cuuuute!" Yang says and is suddenly knocked back as a pillow is launched at her face.

"Shut up! I didn't get to take my friends with me to school! It's weird not knowing anyone here!"

"What about Jaune? He's... nice! There you go! Plus one friend! That's a hundred percent increase!"

Ruby turned on her back.

"Pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend. Back to zero…"

"There's no such thing as negative friends! You just made one friend and one enemy!" Yang is hit in the face with another pillow, this time looking like a dog.

"Look, it's only been one day. Trust me; you've got friends all around you! You just haven't met them yet!" Yang said

The two sisters notice a candle being lighted nearby, and the black haired girl from earlier in the day is seen leaning against a wall, reading her book.

"That girl…" Ruby mutters

"You know her?" Yang asks

"Not really. She saw what happened this morning, but left before I could say anything."

"Well, now's your chance!" Yang says before she grabs Ruby's arm and lifts her up.

"Wait! What are you doing?!" Ruby exclaims in surprise.

The girl in question looks over her book to see Ruby unsuccessfully struggling against Yang's grip as she leads her sister over to the girls' spot before letting go.

Yang speaks to the girl in a sing-song voice. "Hel-looooo! I believe you two may know each other?"

"Aren't you… that girl that exploded?" The girl asked

"Uh, yeah! My name's Ruby! But you can just call me Crater…" Ruby trails off while an embarrassed smile forms on her face.

"Actually, you can just call me Ruby."

The girl looks back at her book. "Okay," she replies

"What are you doing?" Yang whispers in Ruby's ear.

"I don't know - help me!" Ruby whispers back before she goes back to smiling.

"So… What's your name?" Yang asks

The girl sighs as she's distracted yet again.

"Blake."

"Well, Blake, I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister! I like your bow!" Yang replies

"Thanks!" Blake says in an irritated tone

"It goes great with your…" Yang pauses as she looks for the right word. "Pajamas!" Yang finishes

"Right…" Blake says with an eye roll.

Ruby laughs uncomfortably at this.

"Nice night, don't you think?" Yang tries now.

"Yes - it's lovely! Almost as lovely as this book!" Blake says, hoping Yang and Ruby would get the hint. They remain standing there however.

"That I will continue to read," Blake tries again but Ruby and Yang continue standing there.

"As soon as you leave!" Blake finishes.

"Yeah, this girl's a lost cause," Yang says to ruby.

"What's it about?" Ruby says to Blake

"Huh?" Blake is surprised by the question.

"Your book. Does it have a name?" Ruby asked

"Well... i-it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body," Blake replied.

"Oh, yeah... That's real lovely!" Yang says sarcastically.

"I love books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters... They're one of the reasons I want to be a Huntress!"

Blake laughs a little.

"And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?"

"Well, I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves!"

"That's… very ambitious for a child," Blake's smile turns into a frown.

"Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale."

"Well, that's why we're here! To make it better."

"Oh, I am so proud of my baby sister!" Yang cooed before she hugs Ruby and lifts her into the air.

Ruby kicks to try and get down. "Cut it out!" Ruby exclaims before the forced sisterly bonding evolves into the two of them fighting.

Blake laughs slightly. "Well, Ruby, Yang, it's a pleasure to ha-"

Weiss storms onto the scene in her own pajamas as Ruby traps Yang's leg.

"What in the world is going on over here?! Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"

Weiss and Yang look at each other. "Oh, not you again!" They say in unison.

"Shh! Guys, she's right! People are trying to sleep!" Ruby pleaded.

"Oh, now you're on my side!" Weiss exclaims, looking at Ruby.

"I was always on your side!"

"Yeah, what's your problem with my sister? She's only trying to be nice!" Yang says

"She's a hazard to my health!"

"Weiss Schnee!" A new voice speaks up and the four girls turn to the newcomer.

"If you want an actual hazard to your health to occur, then by all means continue talking," Hiccup said shortly as he glared at her.

Weiss, who was still angry from Hiccup intervening earlier scoffed at this. "And what would you do?"

"Besides getting you kicked out of Beacon for causing an explosion on School Grounds? Are you forgetting that I am part of the staff of Beacon?" Hiccup said sarcastically.

Weiss huffed and walked away at this point.

"Finally some peace and quiet," Hiccup said under his breath.

"If you three need any more help dealing with Weiss, tell me and I will sort it out," Hiccup replied before walking away.

Yang and Ruby get ready to sleep after this and when they are ready, Blake closes her book, reaches over to grab her candle, and blows it out, enveloping the room in black.

* * *

A certain person's eyes wearily open and close before waking up fully and seeing a red-headed girl fill their view.

"Wake up, lazy butt!" the girl says before she dashes to the side.

The persons in question is a male teenager with long black hair tied into a ponytail that ends halfway down his back. There is a magenta streak on the left side of his hair. His eyes match the streak in his hair, and his clothing appears to be influenced by Chinese culture. He gets up with a groan as the girl hounds him.

"It's morning! It's morning! It's morning! It's morning!" The girl says in a sing-song voice

The male teenager sighs again. He proceeds to brush his teeth in the restroom while the girl continues to talk.

"I can't believe we've been at Beacon for a full twenty-four hours! Not that I thought we'd get kicked out or anything, I mean, you're the perfect student and I'm... well, I'm me! But it's just crazy, you know?"

The two are readying themselves in the ballroom. The girl is brushing her hair and still chattering while the boy is tightening the strings on his sleeping bag.

"We've been friends for soooo long! What are the odds we'd still be together? Well, not together-together…Not that I'm not saying that you're not handsome; you are handsome, but that'd just be weird, right?"

The two are now in the middle of eating their breakfast, the girl having a pancake hanging from her mouth as she is still talking.

The girl continued speaking but was muffled through her food. "Right! What was I thinking? But still, I hope we end up on the same team together!" She slurps up the rest of her pancake. "Oohhhh! We should come up with some sort of plan, to make sure we end up on the same team together! What if we bribe the headmaster? No, that won't work. He has the school."

The two are then readying themselves in the locker room, the boy loading his weapons and the girl still talking.

"I know! We'll have some sort of signal! Like a distress signal!"

The girl gasps before continuing. "A secret signal so we can find each other in the forest! Can you imitate a sloth?"

The boy finally replies to the girl. "Nora?"

"Yes, Ren?" Nora asks

Ren sheaths his weapons in his sleeves. "I don't think sloths make a lot of noise."

Nora pauses for a moment. "That's why it's perfect! No one will suspect we're working together!"

Ren smiles and shuts his locker. "Come on Nora, let's go."

"Not together-together…" Nora giggles

Ren heads out while a skipping Nora follows, passing Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long as they are busy readying themselves.

"Wonder what those two are so worked up about?" Ruby says out loud

"Oh, who knows? So, you seem awfully chipper this morning!" Yang replies

"Yep! No more awkward small talk or "getting-to-know-you" stuff. Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking," Ruby strokes Crescent Rose as she sighs happily.

"Well, remember, Ruby, you're not the only one going through initiation. If you wanna grow up, you're gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together."

Ruby sighs in frustration. "You sound like Dad!" Ruby shoves her weapon into the locker.

"Okay, first of all: What does meeting new people have to do with fighting? And secondly: I don't need people to help me grow up! I drink milk!"

"But what about when we form teams?" Yang points out

Ruby becomes suddenly nervous. "Um, I don't know, I... I'll just be on your team or something…"

Yang brings her hair around her shoulder and strokes it. "Maybe you should try being on someone else's team?"

"My dear sister Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?"

"What? No! Of course I do! I just thought... I don't know, maybe it would help you... break out of your shell!"

"What the-?! I don't need to 'break out of my shell'! That's absolutely-"

"Ridiculous!" Jaune says as he suddenly walks in between the sisters, holding a map and looking lost.

"There's no way I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday! I would've remembered having to count that high! Why does this have to happen today?"

Jaune passes Weiss Schnee and the red-headed girl who was watching Jaune the previous day as they ready themselves at their lockers.

"So, Pyrrha, have you given any thought to whose team you'd like to be on? I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual such as yourself!" Weiss says

"Hmm… I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may," Pyrrha admitted.

"Well… I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together."

"Well, that sounds grand!"

"Great!"

'This will be perfect! The smartest girl in class combined with the strongest girl in class! Together we will be unstoppable! I can see it now! We'll be popular! We'll be celebrities! We'll get perfect grades! Nothing can come between us now!' Weiss thought to herself

Jaune comes between them and interrupts Weiss' evil train of thought. "You know what else is great? Me. Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you."

"You again?" Weiss asks in an irritated tone.

Pyrrha hurriedly lets herself be seen. "Nice to meet you, Jaune!" she says

"Yeah, yeah." Jaune says as he pushes Pyrrha aside and talks to Weiss, posing slightly. "So, Weiss, couldn't help but overhear your fondness of me the other day."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"

"Don't worry! No need to be embarrassed! So, been hearing rumors about teams! I was thinking you and me would make a good one! What do you say?"

Pyrrha gets Jaune's attention again. "Actually, I think the teams are comprised of four students each, so-"

"You don't say," Jaune advances on his new target. "Well, hot stuff, play your cards right and maybe you could join up with the winning team."

Weiss separates the two. "Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

"Not in the slightest, snow angel."

"This is Pyrrha."

"Hello again!" Pyrrha waves

"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum!"

"Never heard of it," Jaune replies

Weiss scoffs at this. "She's won the Mistral Region Tournaments four years in a row! A new record!"

"The what?" Jaune replies, dumbfounded.

Weiss waves her arms rapidly in anger. "She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!"

Jaune gasps suddenly. "That's you?! But they only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!"

"Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you."

"So, after hearing all of this, do you really think you're in a position to ask her to be on your team?"

"I guess not... Sorry…" Jaune says hanging his head in embarrassment

"Actually, Jaune, I think you'd make a great leader!"

Jaune immediately brightens back up. "D'oh, stop it!"

"Seriously, please stop it. This kind of behavior should not be encouraged!" Weiss demanded.

"Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for Team Jaune. Spots are filling up quick! Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I could pull some strings, find a place for you. What do you say?" Jaune asked

"All right, that's a bit too close! Pyrrha, a little help, please?!" Weiss pleaded.

Jaune looks back just in time to see Pyrrha's weapon strike him, sending the would-be leader flying.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha cries

"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately," Glynda's voice announces through the intercom system.

Weiss passes Jaune as he hangs from the wall of a locker on her way out. Pyrrha follows her, grabbing her spear and dropping Jaune to the ground.

"It was nice meeting you!" Pyrrha says before walking off.

Jaune slumps against the locker. "Likewise…"

Yang and Ruby approach Jaune. "Having some trouble there, lady-killer?"

"I don't understand. My dad said all women look for is confidence! Where did I go wrong?" Jaune accepts Ruby's offered hand and uses her to lift himself back up.

"'Snow Angel', probably wasn't the best start," Yang says dryly

"Come on, Jaune, let's go."

Ruby leads Jaune out of the locker room by supporting him and his damaged self-esteem.

The students gather onto the Beacon Cliff, overlooking a forest, where several students — some old, some new, and some unseen — are standing on silver tiles in front of a mug-holding Professor Ozpin, Hiccup and Glynda with her tablet.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest," Ozpin says

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of "teams." Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today." Glynda says.

"What? Ohhh…" Ruby says

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well."

Ruby groans when she hears this.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

The shocked expression on Ruby's face makes it seem like her world cracking like glass and falling apart. "Whaaaat?!"

"See? I told you-!" Nora says to Ren

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die."

Jaune laughs nervously and then gulps loudly.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

Jaune raises his hand. "Yeah, um, sir?"

"Good! Now, take your positions," Ozpin says, ignoring Jaune's question.

Everyone strikes a pose on their tile. Nora crouches low, Ren wields his weapons, Yang raises her fists, Ruby readies her body, and Jaune is still raising his hand.

"Uh, sir? I've got, um... a question." Jaune says as he fails to notice the tile under Weiss rising up into a springboard, rocketing into the air and over the forest, as the platforms activate down the line. "So, this landing... strategy thing... Uh, wha-what is it? You're, like, dropping us off or something?"

"No. You will be falling," Ozpin says

Jaune missing more students being thrown. "Oh, uh, I see... So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?"

"No. You will be using your own 'landing strategy'," Ozpin answers

Jaune still doesn't see an excited Nora and Ren getting launched. "Uh-huh... Yeah."

At her turn, Yang winks at her younger sister, puts on a pair of aviators, and flies off with a "Woo-hoooooooo!" a second before Ruby joins her.

"So, what exactly is a landing strategYYY!…"

He asks this part just when he finally gets hurled along with the cloud of students that were now making their way down into the forest below under the eyes of the teachers. Ozpin, for his part, simply takes a sip of his drink as he and Glynda watch the scene unfold.

"Um, sir?" Hiccup spoke up.

Ozpin turned around. "Yes?"

"Do you need me for anything here? I should probably check up on Toothless," Hiccup replied

"I don't think we have anything pressing to deal with, besides watching these students. You can go," Ozpin said with a nod.

When Hiccup left, Glynda spoke up. "That dragon takes up most of his time. I think he has less time to train than he needs. I think you should let him spar with the students when he is around."

Ozpin shook his head. "Some students will be put off by the fact that someone the same age as them works at Beacon and as a result, there will be rivalries between him and the students that Hiccup could do without, especially on missions where teamwork may be required."

Glynda sighed, "I suppose you're right. I just wish students weren't so fickle," Glynda said.

"So do I, Glynda. So do I," Ozpin replied before looking at his scroll.

Hiccup reached his forge in Vale a while later and opened the door.

"So what have you been up to bud?" Hiccup asked, before noticing the dragon was asleep. Hiccup proceeded to bring out a basket filled with fish for Toothless when the dragon was hungry. He then took out his weapons, a pair of hand axes with blades that can be set on fire with fire dust as well as transform into semi-automatic pistols. Hiccup sheathed the axes, before he then left the forge once again and set off to return to Beacon.


	5. Initiation & Forming Teams

A New World

Chapter 5: Initiation & Forming Teams

* * *

A black bird is flying slowly and magnificently, right up to the moment it gives a final shriek and Ruby crashes through it in a burst of feathers as she plummets downward.

"Birdie, no!" Ruby shouts as she falls.

Ruby fires off a few rounds from Crescent Rose to slow herself down, then turns the weapon into its scythe form to catch the branch of a tree in her blade and fall downward at a slower pace.

Weiss, armed with her weapon, Myrtenaster, summons a white snowflake circle under her and leaps off of it to the forest below.

Ren descends, with Nora Valkyrie briefly being seen next to him going at a faster speed and spins in the air, eventually using his weapons to spiral around the trunk of a large tree and hit the ground, brushing off his clothes before looking up to see...

Yang pass overhead. "Woo-hoo! Yeah! Alley-oop!" she says as she goes past.

Yang, soaring right over the treetops, is using her gauntlets and its fiery force to push her through the air further and further north, spinning and laughing with each blast, even when she crashes through the leaves of a tree and leaps off two trunks to tumble to the ground.

"Nailed it!" Yang says, before she runs off.

Pyrrha, her weapon in sword form and armed with a shield, crashes through several trees and rolls on a branch, immediately shifting her blade into a rifle and looking through the scope at Jaune as he continues to scream and fall helplessly. Pyrrha coolly transforms her weapon again to its spear form, takes a moment to evaluate her throw, and rockets the javelin deep into the forest until a "THUNK!" is heard.

"Thank you!" Jaune says in the distance.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha replies, waving in his direction

In the middle of the forest, Ruby lands in a crouch, then darts off with a single mantra in her mind.

"Gotta find Yang! Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang, gotta find…" Ruby starts shouting. "Yang! Yaaaang!" Internally, Ruby now starts seeing herself partnered with various people.

"Oh, this is bad, this is really bad... What if I can't find her? What if someone finds her first? Well, there's always Jaune.

He's nice. He's funny! …I don't think he's very good in a fight, though.

Ooh! What about Blake?! So mysterious, so calm… Plus she likes books! Then again, I'm not sure I'd be able to hold a conversation with her… Ugh!" Ruby shakes her head clear of her daydreams. "Okay… Who else do I know in this school? There's Yang, Jaune, Blake, aaaand…"

Time seems to slow down as Ruby skids to a halt in front of Weiss as she is turning to face her. She stops just in time for their eyes to meet and a pregnant pause follows. This ends when Weiss turns on her heel and walks the other way.

Ruby follows her slightly. "Wait! Where are you going?!" She stops and kicks the ground dejectedly. "We're supposed to be teammates…"

Weiss is seen struggling through the forest, giving an occasional grunt or "Ow!" as she pushes plants out of her way. She brushes herself off and sighs in relief when she hears a voice above her.

"Come on, come on! Stupid…!" the voice says

Weiss looks up and sees Jaune hanging a few feet in the air by the spear embedded in his hood and the tree behind him. As he gives up trying to pull it out, he looks down and sees Weiss, giving an embarrassed wave. Weiss simply heads back in the direction she came from and Jaune groans in dejection.

Weiss passes Ruby and pulls on her hood. "By no means does this make us friends." Weiss states

Ruby is overjoyed as she's dragged away into the bushes. "You came back!"

Jaune sees the scene unfold and waves his arms. "Wait! Come back! Who's going to get me down from here?!"

"Jaune?" He looks down at the person who had spoken, who happened to be Pyrrha.

"Do you… have any spots left on your team?"

Jaune crosses his arms and looks away. "Very funny…" he eventually looks down at her and gives a smile, which she returns.

Weiss is trudging through the forest, with Ruby back a ways behind her.

"What's the hurry?" Ruby asked

"I will not let my mission be delayed because you're too slow! I swear, if I get a bad grade because of your—" Weiss trails off as a smiling Ruby suddenly appears next to her. "What the…?"

"I'm not slow, see? You don't have to worry about me!" Ruby says

Weiss looks back, slightly amazed. "When did…?"

"Weiss, just because I don't exactly know how to deal with people doesn't mean I don't know how to deal with monsters!" she gets an arm around a skeptical Weiss' shoulders. "You're about to see a whole different side of me today, Weiss, and after it's all over, you're going to be like, 'Wow! That Ruby girl is really, really cool…'" she pauses somewhat mousily and Weiss rolls her eyes. "and I wanna be her friend!"

Ruby disappears in a shower of rose petals, which Weiss waves away from her face just as she hears crackling and rustling in the bushes around her.

Weiss calls out to Ruby. "You may be fast, but you still excel at wasting time!" she received no answer, save more noises. "Ruby?" Weiss asked. The forest darkens, forcing Weiss to lean in to try and find her new partner as a pair of red eyes are seen glaring behind her. "R?" Weiss repeats

Multiple pairs of red eyes stare at her from the bushes and a deep growl is heard. She turns around until she spots a large, jagged Beowolf emerge from a bush and approach her.

"Ruby!" Weiss shouts

The Beowolf roars at Weiss.

* * *

Yang Xiao Long is currently walking and looking around.

Yang calls out "Helloooooooo?" Yang fails to see a shadow quickly pass by. "Is anyone out there? Helloooo?" Yang calls out again. She stops and raises her arms. "I'm getting bored here!" she hears a rustling in the bushes behind her and turns. "Is someone there?" the rustling continues as Yang comes over and peaks inside. "Ruby, is that you?"

A low, inhuman growl is heard, and Yang's head rises up as she stares at the creature.

"Nope!"

Yang quickly rolls to the side as an Ursa charges out of the green. She gets up and activates her weapons, staring at the monster before another Ursa runs out behind her.

She leaps over it, and its companion runs at her again, only to get knocked back by a fiery punch. The other Ursa and Yang charge at each other, and Yang manages to get under it and deliver several punches and a kick to send the creature back.

"You guys wouldn't happen to have seen a girl in a red hood, would you?" The Ursai merely growl at her. "You could just say 'no'"

One of the Ursai stands on its legs and swipes at her twice, Yang barely dodging the attacks.

Yang laughs. "Geeeez, you two couldn't hit the broadside of a ba…"

Before she can complete her insult, a single strand of her golden hair falls in front of her face and lands on the forest floor.

"You…" Yang closes her violet eyes, then opens them to reveal red, making the Ursai look at each other confusedly before Yang screams. "You monster!"

An inferno surrounds Yang for a moment, and she rockets forward, unleashing a devastating combo of flaming hits and blows on the offending Ursa, making it fly through several burning trees. The other monster runs over, but stops short at Yang's gaze while a tree falls to the ground behind her.

"What! You want some, too?!"

The Ursa rears up and prepares to strike... right when a whirring noise is heard and the monster makes a befuddled noise, falling down a second later to reveal Blake Belladonna with her Gambol Shroud in the beast's back.

Yang pants in exhaustion while Blake recalls the weapon back to her hand, sheathing it on her back and smiling to the side. Yang, now purple-eyed again, speaks to her new partner over the smoking remains of the monster.

"I could've taken him," she says

* * *

Weiss Schnee deflects the swipe from a Beowolf with her Myrtenaster and getting pushed back into the middle of the beastly circle. She holds out her sword as she goes through her dueling motions and practices.

Weiss in her head, says: "Remember your training, Weiss. Head up, shoulders back, right foot forward — not that forward! — slow your breathing, wait for the right time to strike, and…" she brings her rapier up, the revolver spinning. "Now!"

Weiss dashes forward with her loaded weapon at the Beowolf in front of her, just when Ruby suddenly appears between the two in a blur of rose petals and a swipe of her Crescent Rose scythe, landing a hit on the monster.

"Gotcha!" Ruby says

Weiss' eyes widen and she screams as she quickly has to stop, swinging the sword in a random direction and creating a line of fire that sets a nearby tree ablaze, followed quickly by the rest of the forest around the clearing.

Ruby, distracted by Weiss' mess-up, is barely defended when the same Beowolf scratches at her weapon, knocking the younger girl into the heiress.

"Hey, watch it!" Ruby says

"Excuse me! You attacked out of turn! I could have killed you!"

"You'll have to try a lot harder than that…" Ruby comments.

The duo wield their arms as the pack of Beowolves whine and growl around them. Ruby reloads her scythe just as a flaming tree falls near them.

Weiss grabs Ruby's arm. "We have to go!"

She leads Ruby out of the blaze as it engulfs the grass and sets the Grimm to running back the way they came or suffering in the fire.

Ruby and Weiss stop a safe ways from the smoke and flames. Weiss leans over and pants as Ruby looks behind her.

"What was that?!" Ruby demanded, "That should've been easy!"

"Well perhaps if you had exercised even the slightest amount of caution with the placement of your strikes, I wouldn't have set the forest on fire!"

Ruby scoffs. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just surprised someone who talks so much would communicate so little during an encounter!"

"Well, I'm sorry you need my help to win a fight. I'm just fine on my own!" Ruby stated indignantly

"Well, congratulations on being the strongest child to sneak your way into Beacon. Bravo!" Weiss says and she begins to walk off on her partner yet again. Ruby, with an agitated shriek, unfolds Crescent Rose, slices a tree down to the stump, refolds it back, and follows her partner as the tree crashes behind her. Neither notice the large dark feather floating onto the fallen trunk behind them.

* * *

Meanwhile across the Forest, Pyrrha Nikos, armed with her weapons, Miló and Akoúo̱, and Jaune Arc are making their way through the bushes. Jaune hears a noise far away and turns his head.

"Did you hear that?" Jaune asked

"Gunfire. It seems some of our comrades have encountered the enemy." Pyrrha replied.

They keep moving forward, Jaune still staring in the sound's direction as Pyrrha raises a branch to pass by and accidentally releases it right at Jaune's face, flooring him instantly.

Pyrrha looking back behind her and sees Jaune on the ground. "Jaune! I'm sorry!"

Jaune laughs, lowering his hand from his cheek to reveal a gash from the wooden recoil. "It's okay. Just a scratch!" he gets back up when Pyrrha approaches him.

"Why didn't you activate your Aura?" Pyrrha asked

"Huh?"

"Your Aura." Pyrrha repeated

"Gesundheit." Jaune replied

"Jaune, do you... know what Aura is?"

Jaune waves the question off, avoiding eye contact.

"Psch! Of course I do! Do you know what Aura is?"

Pyrrha smiles at him and gets ready to explain. Meanwhile Lie Ren is trekking through the forest's tall grass.

"Aura is the manifestation of our soul. It bears our burdens and shields our hearts. Have you ever felt you were being watched without knowing that someone was there?" Pyrrha asked

"Uh… yeah." Jaune replied

Ren stops and narrows his eyes, looking around him while a huge black Grimm snake rises up from the grass behind him and quickly surrounds him with its large, hissing body. Ren adopts a fighting stance as the snake coils together in front of him and attacks with its long fangs.

Pyrrha walks around Jaune. "With practice, our Aura can be our shield. Everyone has it, even animals."

"What about monsters?" Jaune asked

"No." Pyrrha replies.

Ren leaps out of the way of the snake. Resulting in the snake's mouth hitting the ground and instantly coming up again to hit a jumping Ren back with its snout.

"The monsters we fight lack a soul. They are creatures of Grimm, the manifestation of anonymity." Pyrrha says.

Ren lands in a crouch when the serpent encircles him again, and he unleashes his weapons before jumping up and firing at the creature.

"They are the darkness, and we are the light." Pyrrha continues

Ren kicks the snake's snout and slashes at its head. "Right, that's why we fight them!" Jaune exclaims.

"It's not about why; it's about knowing." Pyrrha replies.

The snake flows around Ren and tries to bite him again, but he flips over it and drives his weapons into its head, pausing a moment without him sensing the serpent's white head behind him.

"Understanding dark and light helps us manifest our Aura. Everyone has some of both." Pyrrha says again

Ren turns and looks up at the white head as it launches itself at him, dodging it and landing just in time to see the head slither towards him. As it gets closer, he runs at it and leaps onto the black head, sliding over its body and blasting the other head.

"By baring your soul outward as a force, you can deflect harm. All of our tools and equipment are conduits for Aura. You protect yourself and your soul when fighting."

Ren is unprepared for the white half to hit him with its head, knocking him off as he drops his weapons, and leaving him to merely raise his arms and distantly cry "No!" to the mouth of the black head.

Jaune opens his eyes with the revelation.

"It's like a force field!" Jaune exclaims eagerly

"Yes, if you want to look at it that way." Pyrrha replies after pausing for a moment.

Ren is now holding the front fangs of the colossal snake in his hands, glowing a faint, pulsating pink as he grips the teeth and yanks them from the monster's mouth, causing it to flail away. It attempts to bite him again, but Ren spins to the side and stabs a fang into its eye, rotating his arm to deliver a final blow that drives the makeshift weapon into its skull, which ripples, expands, and blows apart in a dark mess as its headless body falls over its fellow creature. Wasting no time, Ren runs right at the white head.

Pyrrha walks up to Jaune and touches the side of his head.

"Now, close your eyes and concentrate."

"Uhh... Okay." Jaune replies as he looks at her in confusion but compiles regardless.

Pyrrha smiles and closes her own eyes, opening them as her skin glows and her irises shrink before shutting them again. The two stand there, now with Pyrrha glowing a faint red and Jaune a bright white.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death." Pyrrha says and places a hand on his chest. "I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee."

Pyrrha stops glowing red and hunches over in tiredness.

Jaune, who was still glowing, looks at her, concerned. "Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha gets back up. "It's all right. I used my Aura to unlock yours, but the energy that protects you now is your own." she grins as she watches the scratch close up and vanish.

"You have a lot of it." she comments

Jaune smiles and looks at his hands as the glow stops. "Wow…" Jaune says in awe.

At the same time, Ren stands atop of the body of his enemy, sliding the weapons into his sleeves and brushing them off before a strange, animal-like noise is heard above him twice. He looks up and meets the upside-down eyes of Nora Valkyrie.

Ren chuckles. "I still don't think that's what a sloth sounds like."

In response, Nora gives her friend a "Boop!" on the nose, causing him to smile.

* * *

Professor Ozpin is watching the students on his Scroll at the Beacon Cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest when Glynda Goodwitch walks up behind him, holding her own tablet.

"The last pair has been formed, sir." she taps the screen to show a video of said pair.

"Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Poor boy... I can't possibly imagine those two getting along. Still, he's probably better off than Miss Nikos."

The video that plays changes to Pyrrha and Jaune Arc's trek through the woods.

"Mmmm…" Ozpin muses thoughtfully

"I don't care what his transcripts say. That Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat." she deactivates the tablet, walking back a little.

"I guess we'll find out soon enough. At their current pace, they should reach the temple within just a few minutes." Glynda continues. She turns back to Ozpin. "Speaking of which, what did you use as relics this year?" her question is met with silence from the Headmaster.

"Professor Ozpin?" Glynda asks.

Ozpin doesn't answer, watching his tablet with a contemplating interest as it shows the footage of Ruby Rose sitting in the grass and picking stray leaves while her "partner", Weiss Schnee walks in random directions.

* * *

Hiccup returned after the Nevermore and the Deathstalker had been defeated by the students in Initiation. He was currently watching the fight, which had been recorded by several cameras which had been placed throughout Emerald forest.

He watched in interest as both Jaune and Ruby carried out a plan to kill the Deathstalker and the Nevermore respectively.

Ruby dragged the Nevermore up the steep cliff and decapitated it as she reached the top.

"Hiccup, what do you think of their performances?" Ozpin asked.

"I think that they did quite well. Ruby and Jaune seem to be suitable as team leaders. Weiss isn't suitable as team leader, unless she is on a different team from Ruby.

Yang has too short a temper to be leader and Blake would do well in fights, but she doesn't talk much so her team wouldn't do so well if she became leader.

Ruby should be team leader of the team that she ends up on because she was patient and was able to think of a plan to defeat the Nevermore quickly all by herself, which a leader should be able to do.

Jaune should be leader of his team for the same reasons. Also Ren is similar to Blake as he only talks to Nora often.

Nora seems crazy and Pyrrha is undoubtedly the best fighter on the team, which could lead to resentment if she was made team leader as well." Hiccup replied before he paused.

"Weren't there more students?" Hiccup asked.

"They finished first and they didn't encounter much Grim, although they did argue for a while, which may have brought the Grim to the other teams. At least it seems the case with Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose," Ozpin replied

"Ok," Hiccup said

"Now I think it is time they know who will be team leader."

* * *

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark." Ozpin says.

The screen of the auditorium shows each of their profiles as the boys are lined up for the applauding audience to see as Ozpin continues.

"The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by... Cardin Winchester!"

The audience gives one more wave of ovation, while four students walk up to the stage to take their places in front of the headmaster as their faces fill the screen.

"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie.

The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR."

Amid the clapping, Nora laughs and gives Ren a hug.

"Led by... Jaune Arc!" Ozpin states

"Huh? L-Led by...?" Jaune asked, in disbelief

"Congratulations, young man," Ozpin says with a nod in his direction.

A grinning Pyrrha offers a friendly shoulder bump to Jaune, but her "fine leader" is knocked over and falls to his butt in front of the laughing audience.

"And finally: Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long." he motions over the four as they stand before him.

"The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose!" Ozpin announced.

Weiss looks to her right in surprise, where Ruby is obviously in shock as Yang goes over to hug her sister.

"I'm so proud of you!" Yang exclaimed.

"It looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year." Ozpin said, amid the last round of cheers.

Ozpin and Glynda left the stage and Hiccup approached Ruby.

"Congratulations on becoming a team leader, Ruby." Hiccup said with a smile.

"Thanks Hiccup" Ruby replied, returning a smile.

Hiccup nodded and was about to leave when Weiss approached him.

"You set this up didn't you," Weiss said while glaring at him.

"Set up what?" Hiccup asked her, confused as to what she meant.

"Who became team leader. First you got me in trouble for that explosion from yesterday and now this."

Hiccup was about to speak but another person did so first.

"That is a serious accusation to make against a staff member. Do you have any evidence of that?" Glynda asked pointedly.

Weiss looked away in embarrassment. "No," she admitted.

"Good, at least you know when not to lie. For the record, Hiccup was with me and Ozpin, Therefore he was unable to set things up.

I'll let you off with a warning this time, but if you try to make an accusation against a staff member, at least have some evidence to back it up. Also, if you accuse Hiccup or any staff member again, you will be given detention. I hope I don't have to deal with something like this again but we shall see," Glynda replied before she walked away.

Hiccup looked at Weiss and her teammates, who had listened to what Glynda had said.

"You probably don't care Weiss, but if you hadn't ended up on the same team as Ruby, I think you would have done well as team leader.

Since you aren't the leader, I suggest you stop this rivalry that you have going on between you. Believe me when I say that rivalries like that aren't what you want if you want to get along. I speak from personal experience by the way," Hiccup said before he left the room as well, leaving a shocked Weiss behind.

* * *

Across dimensions, Astrid sneezed suddenly.

"You all right lass?" Gobber asked

"Yeah, I'm fine, just sneezed for some reason." Astrid replied before she fed her dragon, Stormfly some chicken.

* * *

Weiss approaches Hiccup later in the day. "Hiccup?" she asks.

Hiccup turns around. "Yes?"

Weiss looks around before speaking up, refusing to look him in the eyes. "What did you mean earlier? You said you spoke from experience earlier."

"Oh, ok. Back on Berk, my home village, there was a girl that was top of the class while I was at the bottom. After a while I reached the top of said class. The girl in question didn't like that and started following me in order to find out how I got so good. She eventually found out and we became friends. I left home soon after but that is a story for another time," Hiccup paused and glanced at Weiss before continuing to speak.

"Now the moral of the story: don't make rivalries if you can help it. It doesn't help anyone to be angry at anyone for no reason. That's Yang's job," Hiccup said and they both laugh.

"Thanks Hiccup," Weiss said with a rare smile.

"You're welcome," Hiccup replies

Weiss turns to leave when she thinks of some more questions. "What is the girl's name and what is she like?"

"Her name is Astrid and she is like a non flirty version of Yang."

"Yang is flirty?" Weiss asked in surprise at the information he let slip

"Yes she is, I've known her for two years. She also makes sometimes." Hiccup replied. "Good luck with her," Hiccup then walked away.

* * *

At Night, elsewhere in the city of Vale, Roman Torchwick is getting a call on his phone. He is in a shadowy room filled with shelves and a desk in the back.

The muffled conversation ends, and Roman angrily slams the phone down, sighing.

He holds a cigar to his mouth and puts his symbolized lighter to the end, just as a man in a gray mask and black hood comes with a trolley. Roman holds out a collection of Lien, which he places on the table and the man takes.

"Open it." Roman orders the man.

The masked man does so with a crowbar, revealing a large amount of Dust crystals of varying colors - orange, blue, white, red, green, cyan, gold, yellow, and more. Roman picks up a blue gem in his hand and looks at the loot.

"We're gonna need more men…" Roman mutters.

Roman turns away from a map that was above the desk, showing Vale and various districts and areas of crossed-out locations, all leading into a specially-circled place - Beacon


	6. Beacon's New Guidance Counselor

A New World

Chapter 6: Beacon's new guidance counselor

A/N: So here is chapter six of A New World. Before you all read, I want to let you all know the results of the poll on my profile where you can vote for Hiccup's semblance in this story.

The results so far are:

Firebending/Elemental control with 3 votes. (leaning towards choosing the latter for his semblance by the way.)

Teleportation with 1 vote.

Cross-Dimensional Portals with 1 vote.

Telepathy and Telekinesis, both with no votes.

The poll will stay open until the next chapter is posted so remember to vote!

And now here is the chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

The day after Initiation, Hiccup was busy working in his forge in Vale while Toothless was taking a nap at the back of the forge as usual.

Hiccup was in the process of finishing up the sword he was working on when he heard footsteps outside his forge. Placing the sword in some water to cool it down he went outside to investigate.

"Hello?" Hiccup said as he went outside and saw a boy crouching by the garbage bins outside his forge. The boy was startled by Hiccup's sudden appearance, and looked up at him fearfully before he stood up, turned, and ran away.

"Hey, wait up!" Hiccup said while giving chase.

Ignoring his pleas, the boy sped up while bumping into the crowd of people. Suddenly, a portal opened in front of the boy and he leaped through it, disappearing from view as the portal closes.

"Well, that's not something you see every day," Hiccup said coming to a stop when the portal disappeared. Resigned, he trudged back to his the forge, he turned on his scroll and scrolled to the news.

"Thank you, Cyril. In other news, another protest focusing on Faunus Civil rights is set to take place two weeks from now in Vale. This comes after the recent protest turned dark when the White Fang showed up. The Faunus civil rights group, Faunus First and its leader who wished to remain unnamed, has publicly denounced the White Fang calling them a disgrace to all Faunus for their violence against human and Faunus civilians and apologized for the behavior of the group…"

The news report was still going on in the background but Hiccup had stopped paying attention. He needed to see a certain Headmaster.

* * *

Ozpin lounged at his desk in his office at Beacon and was drinking his favorite coffee while looking at a message from Professor Port on his scroll when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Ozpin said

Hiccup entered the room, foregoing pleasantries and approached Ozpin.

"Have you seen the news?" Hiccup asked.

Ozpin nodded. "Yes, I was just about to call you about it. But before that, I have two matters to take care of."

Ozpin leaned forward and turned on the intercom system.

"Could Weiss Schnee, Ruby Rose, Pyrrha Nikos and Blake Belladonna come to my office, please? That is all." Ozpin said before turning off the intercom. Hiccup made to ask what the matter was but Ozpin's expression told him it would be a useless endeavor.

Soon, the four girls arrived at Ozpin's office to his relief.

"You wanted to see us, sir?" Pyrrha asked

"Yes, I wanted to see you, but I will not be the one handling the argument between Miss Schnee and Miss Rose over who should be the team leader."

"Already Weiss? You couldn't even wait a week before fighting with your partner again?" Hiccup groaned.

"Hey! It wasn't my fault this time!" Weiss stated indignantly.

Hiccup quirked an eyebrow. "And it was Ruby's fault then? I doubt that," Hiccup said pointedly.

"Yes, it was her fault," Weiss replied, glaring at him and Hiccup rolled his eyes

"Wait. How did you know about the argument between me and Ruby, Sir?" Weiss asked

"Professor Port saw you storm out of his classroom and heard the argument going on outside of the room. He sent me a message about it before I called you two here," Ozpin 's scroll buzzed a few seconds later. It was a message from Glynda.

"Well now that all you girls are here, my newly appointed guidance counselor will deal with the argument between you two. Glynda is calling me so I'll be back later," Ozpin said, glancing at Hiccup as he made his way to the door, carrying his mug in one hand and his scroll in the other.

Hiccup sighed after figuring out who the counselor was. "And why didn't you tell me about this?"

"Oh, I didn't? It must have slipped my mind," Ozpin replied with a smirk, not at all apologetic.

"Why am I here then sir?" Pyrrha asked as she and Blake looked confused.

"You will find out soon. You can ask Hiccup when he is done with Miss Schnee and Miss Rose." Ozpin replied and Pyrrha and Blake headmaster then left the room, leaving Hiccup with the three sat down in Ozpin's chair once the headmaster had shut the door.

"Well, it seems that I'm apparently your guidance counselor. Yay me!" Hiccup said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, earning him a giggle from Pyrrha and Ruby while Weiss scowled at him.

He looked at Ruby and Weiss. "Well, I guess I should start with you. What is the problem this time?" Hiccup sighed

"Weiss was angry at me because I'm not a good team leader," Ruby said before Weiss could speak up, earning her a glare.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Is that all that happened?"

"No," Ruby admitted

"Ok. Why don't you tell me everything that happened, starting from the beginning." Hiccup suggested.

"Ok. Well, it started in Professor Port's class…" Ruby began.

Earlier on…

Weiss Schnee was readying her weapon, Myrtenaster at the growling creature in the cage in front of her.

Her teammates cheered her on from their seats in the front row.

Yang Xiao Long raised her fist in the air.

"Goooo, Weiss!" Yang cheered

Blake Belladonna waved a small flag that had the word "RWBY" on it.

"Fight well!" Blake encouraged Weiss.

"Yeah, represent Teeeeam RWBY!" Ruby said.

Weiss Schnee lowered her sword and looked over at her "leader".

"Ruby! I'm trying to focus!" She replied sternly.

Ruby looked sheepishly at Weiss.

"Oh, um… Sorry…" Ruby said softly.

Professor Port now spoke up "Allll right!" He was standing next to the cage, he pulled out his axe.

"Let the match… begin!"

The professor swings down and breaks the lock, dropping the cage door and revealing the Boarbatusk inside, which immediately charges at Weiss.

She uses Myrtenaster to deflect its attack and roll to the side, readying herself for its next move. The Grimm stands a distance away from its enemy, studying her.

"Ha-ha! Wasn't expecting that, were you?" Port exclaimed

"Hang in there, Weiss!" Ruby said, encouraging her.

Weiss is now speeding towards the oncoming Boarbatusk, sticking her blade straight at its skull until they meet and Myrtenaster is trapped in the beast's tusks.

Weiss is still hanging on to the hilt and is tossed around as she struggles to get the rapier back.

"Bold, new approach. I like it!" Professor Port commented

"Come on, Weiss, show it who's boss!" Ruby encouraged her again.

Weiss turned to glare at Ruby, only for the Boarbatusk to turn its head and rip the sword from her grip. Myrtenaster lands far away from Weiss, who is knocked back by the creature's tusks as she is distracted.

"Oh-ho! Now, what will you do without your weapon?" Port said now.

Weiss looks up just in time to see the Boarbatusk charge again, rolling out of the way just in time to avoid getting trampled and make it crash into a desk. Weiss rushes at her sword and slides to get it back in her hand.

"Weiss! Go for its belly! There's no armor underneath-" Ruby tells her.

Weiss turns to face Ruby with a glare.

"Stop telling me what to do!"

Ruby looks hurt at Weiss' rebuttal. Meanwhile, the Boarbatusk leaps into the air and rolls into a ball, spinning rapidly in the air and landing on the ground, consistently gaining speed until it launches itself at Weiss.

It comes closer and closer, but Weiss activates one of her blue-white circles and blocks the roll, leaping up into the now-black snowflake symbol and turning it blue again so she can drive the blade into the Boarbatusk's stomach.

It squeals and falls silent while Weiss gasps in relief.

"Bravo! Bra-vo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training!" Port praises her as Weiss stands up at attention from her exhausted position and Ruby continued to frown.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and... stay vigilant! Class dismissed!"

Weiss glared and turned away, walking hurriedly to the exit past her teammates.

Jaune Arc is watching her as she leaves the room.

"Sheesh, what's with her?" he asked nobody in particular

The remaining members of Team RWBY look at each other with the same question.

Weiss is still storming off, but Ruby turns a corner and manages to catch up with her.

"Weiss!" Ruby said, causing Weiss to turn around and look at Ruby.

"What?" she demanded.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you being-?"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? You're supposed to be a leader, and all you've been so far is a nuisance!"

Ruby scoffed in reply.

"What did I do?" she asked

"That's just it - you've done nothing to earn your position! Back in the forest, you acted like a child, and you've only continued to do so!"

"Weiss, where is this coming from? What happened to all the talk about 'working together'? I thought you believed in acting as a team."

"Not a team led by you. I've studied and trained. And quite frankly, I deserve better." she turns her back to Ruby, who tries to reach out to Weiss but drops her hand with the following words.

"Ozpin made a mistake," Weiss said harshly before she walks away and Ruby looks dejected at her words.

Ruby is about to follow Weiss when Ozpin's voice is heard through the intercom system.

"Could Weiss Schnee, Ruby Rose, Pyrrha Nikos and Blake Belladonna come to my office, please? That is all." Ozpin announced before turning off the intercom.

* * *

"And then we came here," Ruby said as she finished explaining what had happened earlier. All eyes turned to Hiccup and Hiccup cleared his throat before speaking.

"So the issue is you think that Ruby isn't capable to lead team RWBY correct?" Hiccup asked

Weiss nodded. "That is correct."

"And you think that Ozpin made a mistake in choosing Ruby?"

Weiss nodded again.

"Ok. And how do you possibly know that? It has only been a day since the teams were formed." Hiccup pointed out. Weiss opened her mouth to reply but couldn't think of an answer.

"Is this a matter of your pride?" Hiccup asked. Weiss looked at him in confusion so he elaborated.

"Are you angry about Ruby becoming the team leader because you think you would do better as a Schnee or do you actually know how to lead?" Hiccup asked

"Of course I know to lead!" Weiss shouted indignantly. Hiccup stared at her with an eyebrow raised, as if to ask 'really?'

"Well, I think I do," Weiss admitted.

"Alright now I will tell you right now that Ozpin won't change his mind on this matter as he has the final say, so what I suggest you two do is work together to help Ruby become the leader you want and one your team can respect."

Weiss smiled at Hiccup's advice, Hiccup returned the smile before continuing to speak. "Like you and I, she has no idea how to lead people, so you should help her with that. She loves chocolate chip cookies, so you can use that as a bribe." Hiccup finished with a wink, causing everyone except Ruby to laugh as the girl in question pouted cutely.

"I'll keep that in mind," Weiss said

Hiccup nodded. "Alright. And if you have any more trouble, feel free to come back here."

Weiss nodded and left with Ruby. Hiccup then turned to Pyrrha. "What can I do for you?"

"Oh, I was wondering if you happen to know a blacksmith in Vale where I can repair my weapons? They got damaged slightly during initiation yesterday." Pyrrha said.

Hiccup chuckled. "Do you mean when you pinned your team leader and partner to a tree?" Pyrrha flushed red in embarrassment and Hiccup laughed some more.

"Yes, that did damage Miló a bit," Pyrrha replied, her face still as red as her hair.

"Ok. I happen to know a forge called 'Haddocks Lodge'. It is across the street from Tukson's book trade. I know the owner and can get you a discount if you go there." Hiccup replied

"That would be a great help! I'll be there after class today." Pyrrha promised before leaving the room.

Hiccup now turned to Blake.

"Why do you hide your ears behind a bow, Blake?" Hiccup asked and Blake froze, her eyes filled with fear.

"How did you know that I'm a Faunus? And when did you find out?" Blake asked, her eyes narrowed to slits like a cat in suspicion.

"I found out yesterday while watching the recording of initiation. You were able to hear Ruby falling towards the ground, long before Yang could," Hiccup explained. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

"Was it really that easy to figure out about me?" Blake asked Hiccup who shrugged.

"I guess so, although I don't think Yang has noticed yet. At the very least, she hasn't said anything yet. That being said, I think you should let your team know your secret eventually," Hiccup replied and winced at the hypocrisy of what he said, considering the secret that he was hiding in his forge in Vale.

Blake thankfully didn't seem to notice this as she thought about his advice. "I'd rather not, you might not have an issue with Faunus but the Schnee family are not so kind, and I have the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company on my team."

"Fair enough I guess," Hiccup admitted. "Anything else you need help with?"

"No, nothing for now," Blake replied.

"Ok then. You can come back here if you need to talk to me about anything. Off you go now," He said in dismissal and Blake left the room, passing Ozpin who had returned by now.

"So how was your first day as the guidance counselor?" Ozpin teased with the barest hint of a smile.

"It was fine I guess. But you should have told me about that sooner," Hiccup replied

"Apologies about that. I thought I had sent you a message about it already," Ozpin said.

Hiccup nodded and Ozpin continued.

"Since you are now the guidance counselor and it is an actual job, you will be paid every month, just like the rest of the staff."

"Is that really necessary? I mean I make enough money from my forge in Vale," Hiccup stated.

"Perhaps not, but I insist. It would help with your cover as my apprentice if the council decided to investigate. I could simply claim that you work at Beacon and show them a fake ID," Ozpin replied

"Ok then, I accept," Hiccup said with a shrug.

"Alright then. Anyway, I want you to attend this protest that is happening in two weeks to make sure the White Fang doesn't cause too much trouble."

"Ok. And I don't think it will happen but what if Adam shows up?"

"Then you get out of there, he is dangerous, even with your training," Hiccup nodded again in reply.

"That being said, try to stop him from killing or injuring anyone if he does show up."

Hiccup nodded once again and Ozpin smiled.

"Now that is settled, do you want to spar Hiccup?"

"I thought you'd never ask" Hiccup grinned.

Hiccup and Ozpin were now in one of the training rooms in Beacon and were both getting ready for their spar. Hiccup took out his pair of axes for the fight while Ozpin held out his cane in both hands.

Hiccup charged towards Ozpin first and ends up getting hit in the chest by Ozpin. Hiccup gasps in pain as he felt his lungs rapidly empty of air.

Ozpin charged at Hiccup, forcing him to dodge quickly.

"Good," Ozpin said before changing his stance slightly.

"Always remember that an opponent won't wait for you to recover."

Hiccup charged again towards Ozpin after recovering his breath.

Ozpin once again thrusted his cane towards Hiccup, but this time Hiccup jumps over the cane before attempting to attack from behind when he landed.

Ozpin reacted quickly, bringing his cane around to block Hiccup's attack. Hiccup held his axes against Ozpin's cane, gritting his teeth as he held the position. Quickly thinking of his next move, Hiccup jumped back a few steps and turned his axes into semi-automatic pistols using the axes mecha-shift ability.

Hiccup then aimed the pistols before firing his guns at Ozpin who held up his cane, causing the bullets to ricochet, leaving him unharmed.

Ozpin charged at Hiccup again as soon as the boy in question stopped firing at him. He swung his cane at Hiccup's head, forcing him to duck.

Hiccup turned his pistols back into axes as he attempted to make some distance between himself and the headmaster but stopped when he felt Ozpin's cane against his neck, indicating that he hadn't moved fast enough.

"It seems you have lost Hiccup," Ozpin said, signaling the end of the spar.

"Yes, it does." Hiccup replied, with a hint of frustration at making such a simple mistake, something Ozpin noticed but decided not to mention.

"Never turn your back during a fight, your opponent will always be looking for a way to win so try not to give them the chance," Ozpin continued and Hiccup nodded in reluctant agreement.

"That being said, you are getting good at this, even if you have a long way to go," Ozpin teased with the barest hint of a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah. But I'll get there someday. Maybe I'll be able to beat you in a fight soon," Hiccup snarked with a smile which Ozpin returned.

"Let's leave before we get seen together by the other students. There will be many jealous students if they find out that I am training you to fight," Ozpin suggested and Hiccup nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with him.

It seemed as though luck was not on their side however as Blake belladonna was waiting on the other side of the door to the practice room as the door opened and Hiccup and Ozpin saw her there.

She had arrived less than a minute before as she thought she had heard Ozpin sparring and had wanted to join him in a match.

Imagine her surprise then when she saw Hiccup and Ozpin in front of her. She froze on the spot and looked surprised that Hiccup had been sparring with the headmaster.

Hiccup waved a hand near her face, breaking her out of her reverie.

"P-professor Ozpin!" Blake said quickly. "I didn't think you and Hiccup would be in here!" She takes a deep breath to calm down before continuing.

"Sorry about that sir," Blake said, face red in embarrassment.

"It is quite alright, miss Blake. I should have left a sign on the door." Ozpin admitted.

"I'll be going now, have a good day," Ozpin said before he walked away

"It seems you know a secret about me now. Lucky you." Hiccup said with a smirk.

"Lucky me indeed," Blake replied, smirking at Hiccup as well.

"I'll be going now as well. See you later," Hiccup replied

"Goodbye. But you should know that I'll be keeping an eye on you. Maybe I'll get lucky and see you sparring with Ozpin."

"We shall see," Hiccup quipped before he walked away.

* * *

Later on in the day, Pyrrha left beacon, heading to Vale to find the forge Hiccup mentioned earlier.

When she arrives at the forge, she knocked on the door as there was no sign of anyone at the blacksmith window at the front of the forge, next to the door.

"Coming!" Pyrrha heard a voice call out after a few moments. Hiccup opened the door and saw Pyrrha standing there. She was surprised to see that Hiccup was at the forge

"Ah, you're here. Good. Well, come in," Hiccup said before heading away from the followed him wordlessly, still surprised to see Hiccup there.

"You work in a forge?" Pyrrha asked after a few minutes.

"I own the forge. I guess I should reintroduce myself. My name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third. That is, in fact, my name out there." Hiccup said, referring to the words that were painted in the space above the window at the front of the forge.

Pyrrha nodded and held out her hand. "Nice to meet you. My name is Pyrrha Nikos," she replied. "Nice to meet you Milady," Hiccup said as he shook her hand.

Pyrrha giggled. "Milady? Nobody has called me that before," she said, finding that she liked the name.

"Interesting. Now, do you have your fancy weapon with you?" Hiccup asked.

"Not going to say anything else about me?" Pyrrha asked as she handed Hiccup Miló.

"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked, blinking before realization came to him.

"Oh, you mean the fact you have won tournaments right?" Hiccup asked

Pyrrha nodded, confirming his thoughts.

"I don't see why that should matter to me. You may be a very good fighter, but you are a student of Beacon as far as I am concerned. And even if I wasn't a staff member, I would only care about that fact if I was going to spar with you. In all other situations, it shouldn't matter to anyone in my opinion."

Pyrrha was overjoyed by what Hiccup had said. She had at first enjoyed winning, but now it simply meant that she was surrounded by fans whenever she went anywhere at the very instant she was recognized as the four-time champion in the Mistral tournaments.

It resulted in her having no actual friends, only people who wished to become better fighters, rather than becoming friends with Pyrrha herself instead of her skills as a fighter.

Pyrrha smiled gratefully at Hiccup. "You don't know what that means to me, Hiccup," she said

Hiccup chuckled. "Actually, I have an idea. Back home, before I left there was a girl who strived to be the best fighter of anyone our age. As a result, my cousin and everyone else on Berk would talk to her as she was popular. Thing is, this drove her to be even better as a result as she had no real friends. I think honestly, she was miserable deep down. But she never said anything. She is what I would imagine Weiss would be like if she was in your position," Hiccup said with a laugh which Pyrrha returned.

"Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked. The point of the story is you should try to make friends as much as possible. Jaune Arc for example. He reminds me of myself quite a bit," Hiccup said.

"Really?" Pyrrha asked, intrigued at this piece of information.

"Yes. I was quite unpopular back home, similar to how Jaune is right now. So yes, you should make friends with him. Perhaps even go on a date," Hiccup said with a wink.

Pyrrha blushed as she thought of the idea. Hiccup noticed this and decided to tease her.

"Oh? Already thinking about Jaune?" Hiccup teased, making her face match the color of her hair.

"S-Stop!" she cried out of embarrassment.

"Ok, I'll stop. Oh my Thor, I sound like Yang now," Hiccup said, a horrified expression forming on his face.

Pyrrha paused. "Yang? You mean the sister to the leader of team RWBY?" Hiccup nodded.

"How do you know her for that long? Beacon only just started the semester a few days ago," Pyrrha wondered

"It's a long story, and you wouldn't believe me if I told you all about it."

"Alright," Pyrrha said, deciding to drop the matter.

"I'll have your weapon repaired and ready for you tomorrow." Hiccup said, moving the conversation.

"Ok. well, I shall see you tomorrow then. Oh, and before I forget, I should pay you." Pyrrha said, taking out her wallet. "How much do I owe you?" she asked.

Hiccup inspected Miló. "It seems to only have a few scratches, so it should be easy to repair. It does, however, use some expensive metal as far as I can tell so 200 lien would be the normal price, but you get a 50 percent discount so 100 lien." Hiccup said.

He found a button on the side of the weapon and pressed it, turning it into a rifle. "Do you mind if I have a look to see how the mecha-shift mechanism on your weapon works? I am working on a new weapon after all," Hiccup asked, with a hopeful expression on his face.

"Go right ahead. You did give me a discount and I enjoyed our conversation here Hiccup," Pyrrha said as she handed him the agreed amount of lien and made her way to the door.

"See you tomorrow," she said before leaving the forge and heading back to Beacon, as Hiccup got ready to work throughout the night.

* * *

A/N: I hope this chapter was more satisfying to read than the previous chapters as it focuses less on cannon RWBY and more on Hiccup. Let me know what you all think in a review and I shall see you all soon.


	7. Jaune Arc and Cardin Winchester

A New World

Chapter 7: Jaune Arc and Cardin Winchester

A/N: Ugh. Having less time to write this story due to College is quite annoying. That and writer's block. I spent at least two weeks writing this chapter and I'm still not happy with it. Regardless I hope you all enjoy it.

Also, The poll for Hiccup's semblance is now closed and Elemental Control is the chosen semblance. It received 4 votes. Here is the chapter now.

* * *

Hiccup was sitting near the front of Glynda's sparring class where a fight between the leader's of teams' CRDL and JNPR was about to take place.

Cardin Winchester was standing with his mace perched on his shoulder, Jaune Arc was standing opposite him with Crocea Mors drawn. The knight was leaning on his sword as if exhausted, in the spotlight shining on the Beacon Academy auditorium stage.

Jaune glared at Cardin, who laughed at his opponent's exhaustion. Getting his breath back, the underdog gathered his strength to charge forward and swing his blade at his bully, only for him to jump out of the way.

Jaune looked back surprised, as the massive mace crashed into Jaune's shield sending both him and it flying back. The shield landed several meters away from him as the spent boy wearily rose to his feet. Now only armed with his sword, Jaune continued to try and attack, but was blocked by the mace's hilt. Their weapons locked, Cardin forced himself up, towering over a struggling Jaune.

"This is the part where you lose." Cardin said.

"Over my dead-!" Jaune began but is cut short as Cardin kneed him in the gut, making him drop his sword with a clatter as he fell to the ground in pain.

Cardin raised his mace and just before he could bring it to bear on a prone, terrified Jaune the buzzer rings. The arena lights come back on, and Glynda Goodwitch's booming voice causes him to stop in his tracks

"Mister Winchester, that is enough!" Glynda shouts. Cardin relents but not without a sneer towards the thoroughly embarrassed knight before he walks away. The teacher made here way to the stage before tapping her scroll and addressing the student body.

"Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's Aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament-style duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle, and that the official may call the match."

While Jaune was still laying on the floor in defeat looked upon by a morose Pyrrha Nikos, Glynda turned her head to look at the losing warrior as he pulled out his own scroll and looked at his low, blinking stats and that of his entire team.

"Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now. Please try to refer to your Scroll during combat. Gauging your Aura will help you decide when it's appropriate to attack, or when it is better to move to a more... defensive strategy. We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf, now, would we?" she commented without a hint of mirth.

"Speak for yourself..." Cardin muttered as he left the stage.

Ignoring Cardin, Glynda continued to speak. "Remember, everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away! It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing! Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale!"

The bell ringing punctuated the end of her statement,and students began streaming out of the auditorium. Apart for Pyrrha of course, whose anguish was plain as day on her face as she stared at Jaune, who was still sitting on the floor, his head hanging in shame.

"You know you could have won the fight or at least done better if you had dodged Cardin's strike's." Hiccup stated as he walked onto the stage. "I hope you now know you can't beat him in terms of strength." he continued and Jaune's expression turned sour. "Leave me alone." he said through gritted teeth.

"I just want to help you improve-" Hiccup tried to speak but was cut off.

"I don't want your help sir. I want to improve on my own." Jaune said firmly, standing up and leaving the room with a mixture of varying defiance and defeat.

"Same as always Pyrrha?" Hiccup asked, glancing at her.

"Yes, Same old Jaune." she confirmed with a sigh. "I'll go cheer him up as usual." Pyrrha said before leaving the room as well.

"Don't feel bad. Our fearless leader will be fine!" Nora announced with a large grin.

Ren gave Hiccup an apologetic look before sighing. "Come on Nora, lets go to lunch."

"Okay Ren." Nora said, skipping out of the room as Ren followed her.

"I know you mean well Hiccup but I think you should leave this to the rest of team JNPR." Glynda spoke up now after watching the conversation between Hiccup and Jaune take place.

"Perhaps," Hiccup sighed. "But I doubt he will want help even from them."

"That remains to be seen." Glynda said

"I hope your right." Hiccup said before they both left the classroom.

* * *

"So! There we were, in the middle of the night..." Nora spoke up while sitting at a table in Beacon's cafeteria with team RWBY and JNPR.

"It was day." Ren, who was sitting next to her interrupts.

"We were surrounded by Ursai…" she said, ignoring Ren completely.

"They were Beowolves." Ren corrects again.

"Dozens of them!" Nora shouts eagerly.

"Two of 'em." Ren replies

Ruby and Pyrrha now look at Jaune who seemed distant with concern.

"But they were no match... And in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!"

Ren sighed in irritation. "She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now."

When Lunch time arrived, Hiccup went to the cafeteria. He sat down at a table near where teams RWBY and JNPR were sitting. The teams were talking among themselves, but he noticed Jaune was staring off into space.

Ignoring his food for a moment, Hiccup took out his scroll and typed out a message.

"Is Jaune ok? He seems lost in his own thoughts. Also did you manage to calm him down?" Hiccup typed out and sent the message to Pyrrha before proceeding to eat his lunch.

Hiccup received a reply a few moments later, "He doesn't seem too sad about the fight but I still think he has problems with Cardin. Everyone has noticed it

Pyrrha looked at the leader of her team. "Jaune? Are you okay?"

Jaune is drawn away from his thoughts as he turned back toward them.

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Why?" he asked

"It's just that you seem a little... not okay..." Ruby spoke up.

The others stop their distractions and stare at him, making Jaune uncomfortable.

"Guys, I'm fine. Seriously! Look!" He holds up a thumb while laughing nervously until his attention is focused on the members of Team CRDL, standing around a girl with brown rabbit ears jutting from her hair as Cardin laughed at her and Sky Lark holds up his hands to his head in a mock interpretation of her unusual featurnedes.

"Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school!" Pyrrha exclaimed.

"Who? Cardin Winchester? Nah... He just likes to mess around! You know, practical jokes!" Jaune replies indignantly.

"He's a bully." Ruby said flatly.

Jaune scoffs at this "Oh, please! Name one time he's 'bullied' me."

"Ok" Ruby said before listing three examples.

* * *

Jaune is seen on the way to class as Cardin is going the other way down the hall. When the two pass, Cardin knocks his arm into Jaune and makes him drop his book, then continuing on his way with his hands out as if daring anyone to challenge him.

"Ah, come on!" Jaune exclaimed in irritation

* * *

Jaune and Cardin are about to pass through a doorway, but Cardin clicks on Jaune's sheath and extends it into its shield form as he's going out, causing him to run into his own defense and have it block the exit.

Jaune grunts in frustration as he tries to lift his shield back out. "Come on...!"

* * *

Glynda is in the locker room with several students, gesturneding at the devices.

"Each of you will be assigned one rocket-propelled locker to store your weapons and extra armor. Additionally, your locker can be sent to a custom location based on a six-digit code." She tells the students.

Hearing this, Cardin looked at Jaune - who was standing between him and the only open locker in the room - and the cliché plays itself out as Cardin quickly pushes a shocked Jaune into the small dark space and closes the door on him, pressing random buttons on the pad right after that.

"What?! No, wait, wait! You've gotta get me out of here! Please! Don't! Don't! Don't do it!" Jaune begged Cardin.

It's too late to protest however when the locker launches up with a burst of blue fire coming from its base. Cardin watches as the locker slowly soars across the sky.

"Ahhh, coooome oooooooon...!" Jaune said, still being heard from the locker.

* * *

The others are totally focused on him now.

Jaune attempts to laugh it off.

"I didn't land far from the school!"

"Jaune, you know if you ever need help, you can just ask. Even Hiccup is offering to help you train to fight. Pyrrha states.

Nora gets up from the table and presents her diabolical plan with a not-entirely-sane grin. "Ooooh! We'll break his legs!" She said but is ignored completely by everyone at the table.

"Guys, really, it's fine! Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me; he's a jerk to everyone." Jaune pointed out

They all looked over as laughing in the background grows louder, mixed in with cries of pain from a rabbit faunus when one of her ears are tugged on by Cardin.

"Ow! That hurts!" The girl stopped struggling and grimaced. "Please, stop…" she begged.

Cardin continued laughing as he turned to his cronies.

"I told you it was real!"

Russell Thrush, one of the members of team CRDL is still guffawing with his teammates.

"What a freak!" Russell said.

"Excuse me, boys. I couldn't help but notice this scene." Hiccup said, approaching team CRDL's table.

"Is there a particular reason why you are bullying miss Velvet here?"

"What's it to you?" Cardin sneered. "Why do you care?"

"I care because Velvet here is on team CFVY. A team whose leader - Coco Adel - happens to have a Gatling gun disguised as a handbag, and is very protective of Velvet here.

Now I don't know about your teammate's, but I personally don't want to see you filled with bullets, Cardin, regardless of whether you deserve it or not. So I'd recommend you let go of her ears." Hiccup said.

Cardin finally relented, and the girl stood up and hurried away, her head bowed and hiding her face from the watching table of heroes, but not before directing a soft "Thank you" in Hiccup's direction before she left the cafetepast

Hiccup turned and was going to return to his table when Cardin spoke up again.

"We're not done here!" Cardin snarled when Hiccup turned around. He stood up and lunged at Hiccup. Hiccup however simply sidestepped out of the way and kicked Cardin as he went past, sending him sprawling to the ground.

The whole Cafeteria became silent and everyone watched the scene take place in excitement. Especially Blake, who was angry at Cardin for what he had just done to Velvet.

Hiccup glanced at the rest team CRDL. "This is between me and Cardin." Hiccup said firmly before looking at Cardin who was glaring at him while still on the ground.

"I don't know what you think would happen but don't forget I'm a hunter and a member of staff. Use your brains next time Cardin. If you have any that is." Hiccup said and the whole Cafeteria started laughing at the bully.

Hiccup then returned to his table and continued to eat his lunch as if he hadn't just humiliated the leader of the third strongest first year team after teams JNPR and RWBY.

Hiccup then left the cafeteria after finishing his lunch, unaware of Coco Adel following him. She had watched the whole scene between Hiccup, Velvet and Cardin and was happy that someone had taken care of her teammate and partner while she was ordering lunch.

"I'd like to thank you for taking care of Velvet." Coco said, smiling when Hiccup jumped and turned around.

"Oh, it's you Coco, and you're welcome. But you don't have to thank me, I hate bullies so I would do it for anyone." Hiccup said honestly

Coco's smile widened. "That's nice. We need more men like you." Hiccup laughed.

"Maybe" He agreed and the bell rang signifying the next class.

"Right, I'll see you later sir. Got to head to my next class. Also I love the leather suit. It looks good on you." Coco said with a wink before walking away.

Hiccup then turned and headed for professor Oobleck's class.

Having gotten up from the table, Jaune looked back at his friends and sighed to himself before moving on with his tray table. He doesn't realize that Cardin is watching his walk of shame with a sinister grin.

* * *

In the next class, Jaune Arc is currently sleeping with his head resting in his hands while Hiccup is sitting next to him and a constantly-zooming and fast-talking Professor Bartholomew Oobleck is in the middle of his hyperactive lecturnede, educating Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Pyrrha Nikos, Velvet, who had been bullied earlier at lunch, and a leaned-back Cardin Winchester sitting directly behind Jaune.

"Yes! Yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution-more popularly known as the Faunus War-" Oobleck zoomed up to the front of the class and the map covered in papers behind his desk.

"…humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie." He points at the map of said-area with his stick, then zoomed off to the side for a sip of his coffee before appearing in front of the desk.

"Now! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events! Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day!"

Oobleck zoomed around the classroom more, sipping his coffee again before continuing to zoom and talk.

"Now! Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?"

Some of the silhouetted students raised their hands. The rabbit faunus girl, after a moment, does the same.

"Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember, students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence!" Oobleck exclaimed before he takes another sip of his coffee.

"I mean, I mean, I mean just look at what happened to White Fang! Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point in the third year of the War?" Oobleck asked and a hand is raised. "Yes?"

"The battle at Fort Castle!" Weiss answered.

The professor smiles. "Precisely! And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"

Unseen by the professor, Cardin flicked a paper football at Jaune's head, causing him to wake up.

"Hey!" Jaune exclaimed in surprise

Oobleck zoomed over into Jaune's face.

"Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?" Oobleck asked.

"Uhhhh... The answer... The advantage... that the Faunus..." Jaune struggled to think of an answer before he looked behind Oobleck's focused face at Pyrrha, who coughed and motioned to her lips as she gave him the answer.

"...had over that guy's stuff..." he sees Pyrrha cup her hands around her eyes and he went for the most obvious answer. "Uhh... Binoculars!" Jaune exclaimed.

While Jaune looked pleased with his answer, the class laughed at him and Oobleck, who was now back at the front of the class, sipped his coffee. Pyrrha sighed and slaps a hand to her forehead as Cardin pounds his fist on his desk while chortling.

Oobleck zoomed back behind his desk.

"Very funny, Mr. Arc! Cardin! Perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject!"

"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier." Cardin said arrogantly.

Pyrrha spoke up as Oobleck shook his head in disappointment.

"You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you, Cardin?"

Cardin sneers at her. "What? You got a problem?"

Pyrrha rolled her eyes. "No, I have the answer! It's night vision. Many Faunus are known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark."

Cardin growls angrily at the correct response.

Blake spoke up next. "General Lagune was inexperienced, and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched, and the general was captured." she turned to look at Cardin with a smirk.

"Perhaps if he'd paid attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure."

Cardin gets up from his seat, with his fists clenched.

"Mr. Winchester! Please take your seat." Oobleck orders. When Jaune laughed at his tormentor's embarrassment, the Professor zoomed up to him.

"You and Mr. Arc can both see me after class for additional readings." he takes yet another sip of his coffee.

Jaune's shoulders slump. "Oohhhh…" Jaune said embarrassed.

Oobleck ignores him and zoomed away. "Now! Moving on!"

* * *

When the lesson ended, Pyrrha, Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren exit of the classroom, only for Pyrrha to stop near the doorway.

"You go on ahead. I'll wait for Jaune." she said to the rest of her team.

Hiccup then left the classroom and approached Pyrrha.

"Did you see where Velvet went Pyrrha?"

She shook her head. "No. Sorry. But she might be with Coco. They tend to hang out."

Hiccup sighed before smirking "Thanks Pyrrha. Have fun with Jaune!" he said before walking away with a laugh as she blushed.

She then looked back inside as the after-class talk occured to the two boys.

Oobleck sipped his coffee.

"You two have been struggling in my class since day one! Now, I don't know if it's a lack of interest, or just your stubborn naturnede, but whatever it is..." he takes a longer sip of his coffee before slamming his mug on his desk, making Jaune flinch.

"It stops now! You've worked hard to gain entrance to this school, and we only accept the best of the best, so I expect you to act like it. History is important, gentlemen! If you can't learn from it... you're destined to repeat it. Pages fifty-one to ninety-one! I want an essay on my desk by next class! Now! Run along."

With that, he zoomed out of the classroom and past a waiting Pyrrha in a green and white blur.

Jaune comes out first, and Cardin emerged behind him, pushing him to the ground and earning an "Ow!" from him that makes the bully laugh before walking away.

Pyrrha pulled Jaune back to his feet.

"You know, I really will break his legs." Jaune sighed, and Pyrrha looked like she is struck by inspiration. "I have an idea! Here, come with me!" she grabs a confused Jaune by the arm and drags him along as she ran down the corridor.

Hiccup found Velvet and Coco heading to their dorms.

"Coco!"

Coco turned around and looked at Hiccup. "Hello again sir. Can I do something for you?"

she asked, lowering her sunglasses.

"Please call me Hiccup and can I speak to Velvet?"

"Yes, of course." She nodded.

"Great, follow me" Hiccup said before walking away.

Hiccup lead her to a spare room and opened the door. The room was furnished with a desk and two chairs placed inside.

"What is this about sir?" Velvet asked as Hiccup sat in the chair behind the desk.

"Sit and I'll tell you. Also like I said to Coco, please call me Hiccup" Hiccup replied. Velvet does so and Hiccup spoke up.

"This is about the fact that you, A second year, on one of the strongest teams of your year, decided not to beat up Cardin. Why didn't you fight back? Or at least prevent him from grabbing your ears?"

"I don't know" Velvet replied, looking away and refusing to meet his gaze.

"Is it because you didn't want to hurt him and thought he would stop eventually?" Hiccup said, ignoring her previous answer.

Velvet nodded reluctantly and Hiccup sighed.

"I thought so. Velvet, - speaking from personal experience here - bullies won't stop bullying you if you don't do anything.

My own cousin bullied me for years because I wasn't able to fight back. You are however, so stand up to Cardin or he will continue to bully you."

Velvet nodded with a small hint of a smile, now more confident.

"Another thing is I won't always be around to help you out like I did earlier, same with Coco so like I've already said, you should stand up for yourself."

She nodded again and Hiccup continued.

"Now that that is out of the way, feel free to talk to me about any other problems you might have. Off you go." Hiccup said in dismissal.

"Thank you Hiccup" Velvet said as she stood up and surprised him by embracing him in a hug.

Hiccup returned the hug awkwardly.

"You're welcome I guess? I haven't been hugged by a student before. I didn't know you are a big softy" Hiccup commented and she drew back, her face completely red.

"Sorry about that." She replied, embarrassed.

Hiccup waved her off

"It's fine, just didn't expect it. Now off you go."

"Thanks again." Velvet said before leaving the room.

* * *

A dejected Jaune and Pyrrha come onto a rooftop of one of the buildings, with a clear view of the glowing green orbs in the central tower of Beacon.

"Pyrrha, I know I'm going through a hard time right now, but I'm not that depressed." He jokes lightly as he looks over the edge of the roof, to the confusion of Pyrrha.

"I can always be a farmer or something…" Jaune comments

Realization hits her with horror. "N-n-no!" she dashes to push Jaune away from the edge.

"That's not why I brought you up here!" She exclaimed before calming down.

"Jaune, I know you're having a difficult time in class and that you're still not the strongest of fighters, so… I want to help you!"

"Wh-what?" Jaune stammered

"We can train up here after class where no one can bother us!" Pyrrha said happily with a smile

"You think I need help?" Jaune asked

"N-no! No, that's not what I meant." Pyrrha's smile disappeared and she backpedaled

"But you just said it." Jaune points out.

Pyrrha sighed. "Jaune, everybody needs a little push from time to time. It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us. You made it to Beacon! That speaks volumes of what you're capable of!"

Jaune looked away from her before lowering his head and voice.

"You're wrong. I-I don't belong here." Jaune said

"That's a terrible thing to say! Of course you do!" Pyrrha exclaimed indignantly.

Jaune look back around, now angry.

"No, I don't!" he shouts before he sighed as Pyrrha looked bewildered and he reveals the truth.

"I wasn't really accepted into Beacon…" Jaune looked his back to her so he doesn't have to face her.

Pyrrha is still confused. "Wh-what do you mean?" she asked.

Jaune's voice goes higher and higher as he confesses.

"I mean I didn't go to combat school, I didn't pass any tests. I didn't earn my spot at this Academy!" he looked at her again.

"I lied! I got my hands on some fake transcripts, and I lied!" He shouts in frustration.

"What? But… why?"

"'Cause this is always what I've wanted to be!" he look away again.

"My father, my grandfather, and his father before him were all warriors! They were all heroes! I wanted to be one, too. I was just never good enough."

Pyrrha approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Then let me help you!" she pleaded

Jaune suddenly turned on her with mad frustration.

"I don't want help! I don't want to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero!"

"Jaune, I-" Pyrrha begins but is cut off.

"I'm tired of being the lovable idiot, stuck in the tree while his friends fight for their lives! Don't you understand? If I can't do this on my own… then what good am I?"

Pyrrha attempts to reach out for his arm and console him, but he leans back from her touch.

"Just… leave me alone. Okay?" He said sadly.

Pyrrha bows her head, sad.

If that's what you think is best…"

She walks away, her footsteps getting softer and softer until she leaves the roof. Jaune paces a little until he hears a mocking laugh and Cardin appeared on the roof after climbing up from his window.

"Oh, Jaune…" he said mockingly.

Jaune looked behind him at his bully.

"Cardin!" he exclaimed in surprise.

"I couldn't help but overhear you two from my dorm room. So, you snuck into Beacon, huh? I gotta say, Jaune, I never expected you to be such a rebel!"

Jaune's voice takes on a looking tone.

"Please, Cardin, please, don't tell anyone!"

"Jaune, come on! I'd never rat on a friend like that!"

"A… a friend?"

"Of course!" he traps Jaune in a headlock under his arm despite his struggling.

"We're friends now, Jauney boy! And the way I see it, as long as you're there for me when I need you, we'll be friends for a long time."

He finally releases Jaune, who gasps as he leans on the ground.

"That being said, I really don't have time to do those extra readings Dr. Oobleck gave us today. Think you could take care of that for me, buddy?"

He leans down to rub Jaune's hair and gets up with a grin.

"That's what I thought."

Cardin heads back to hang onto the edge.

"Don't worry, Jaune; your secret's safe with me."

Cardin drops back down to his room as Jaune rubs his neck in pain and worry at his situation.

"Well this is a problem isn't it." A voice behind Jaune said.

Jaune look around fast enough to receive whiplash and saw Hiccup standing behind him.

"You heard all that?" Jaune asked him.

"No, but if I were to guess it isn't good. Is it about your transcripts?" Hiccup asked and Jaune paled, telling him that he had guessed correctly.

"Please don't tell Ozpin about my transcripts! I'll do anything!" Jaune begged him.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, Let me and Pyrrha teach you to fight. You definitely need help with that, your fight earlier - if I could call it that - was horrible. Cardin isn't a pushover but you didn't even try to dodge, losing your one advantage over him - speed."

Jaune nodded, agreeing reluctantly to his statement

"But first I think you should apologise to Pyrrha. She looked quite upset when I saw her." Hiccup said. Jaune looked sheepishly at him and nodded. Hiccup then turned to leave before pausing and looking at him again. "Oh and Jaune?" Hiccup called out, to get Jaune's attention again.

"Don't worry about those transcripts, I have a feeling Ozpin already knew. And I'll deal with Cardin" Hiccup promised

* * *

The day that the protest was set to take place on arrived and Hiccup was tense. The protestors had formed as a crowd in the middle of Vale and the police force was wearing riot gear in case the protest turned violent. This was guaranteed to happen if the White Fang showed up as this had happened at the previous protest and the memory was fresh in everyone's mind.

Hiccup was wearing his leather mask and was alert, looking for any signs of the white fang when he noticed one of the people among the crowd had a black bow and it twitched just as he laid eyes on it.

'Blake' Hiccup thought. 'What are you doing here?' he wondered

"Do you think the White Fang will show up?" one of the police officers standing next to Hiccup asked him, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Yes. It just depends on when." Hiccup answered

The officer chuckled nervously. "I hope not. This is my first day here."

Hiccup's eyes widened. "They put you against the White Fang on the first day?"

"Yes. Why, a-are they as bad as they say on the news?" the officer asked, afraid.

"Let's just say that it is a good thing you are wearing riot gear." Hiccup said before walking away as he heard the officer gulp loudly behind him.

Hiccup walked closer to the crowd and was about to pass through it to reach Blake when a gunshot rang out and he saw someone wearing a Grim mask out of the corner of his eye.

The White Fang had appeared, and Blake was here.

"Oh for Thor's sake" Hiccup muttered under his breath as the crowd had started to disperse in panic as soon as the gunshot was heard and Hiccup prepared his weapons as the riot police behind him sprang into action.

* * *

A/N: So how are you all enjoying this? Are you enjoying this as much as I am writing it? I certainly hope so. Next chapter will be the rest of this protest scene and other shenanigans.

Until next time my loyal readers.

Silvolde.


	8. Secrets Revealed

A New World

Chapter 8: Secrets Revealed

A/N: I'm back on time since the last update! Yay! Enjoy!"

* * *

The police, dressed in riot gear, sprang into action.

Some officers began evacuating the screaming crowd, while others protected the crowd using their riot shields, forming a barrier between the crowd and the White Fang. This left Hiccup to deal with the White Fang and Blake, who was trying to slip away unnoticed.

"Blake!" Hiccup called out, stopping her in her tracks. She turned around slowly while Hiccup approached her.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at Beacon," Hiccup whispered in her ear.

"What's with the mask? But, we'll talk later. Now we need to deal with them," Blake replied and Hiccup nodded, not needing her to elaborate.

"Alright, you were once part of the White Fang. Any helpful tips?" Hiccup said.

"Yes-" Blake paused before looking at him in shock. "Wait, how do you know that?"

"Like you said. We'll talk later," Hiccup replied, smirking behind his leather mask and Blake rolled her eyes in irritation.

Before either of them could say anything else, however, a group of four White Fang members stood in front of them.

"Blake Belladonna." One of the members, a male Faunus who appeared to be the leader of the small group snarled.

"You were once a respected member of the White Fang. Now you are helping Human scum," The leader said, pointing at Hiccup with his voice filled with anger. "How the mighty have fallen!" The male Faunus spat with a condescending tone.

Hiccup chuckled. "That's rich coming from a guy who could have killed one of your own kind with that gunshot earlier."

"Silence Human!" The leader snarled once more but went silent when Hiccup drew his weapons, followed soon after by Blake.

"You know, you should know who you're dealing with," Hiccup replied. "Do you wish to fight a huntsman trained by Ozpin himself?"

The White Fang members were now looking less sure of themselves while the leader scoffed. "You're bluffing! What makes you so special to be trained by Professor Ozpin himself?" But there was a twinge of doubt in his voice, even as he said this.

"Why don't you find out?" Hiccup asked, taking up a fighting stance.

"We were told to bring Blake to Adam if we saw her. Hand her over and we don't need to fight you," One of the members of the group said, speaking up for the first time and clearly looking to avoid a fight.

"That's not going to happen," Hiccup replied coldly. "You either leave or stay and fight me."

"We don't take orders from Humans!" The leader growled before he lunged at Hiccup, now no longer afraid.

Hiccup sheathed his weapons before delivering a kick to the Faunus' face, following up with a punch to the gut as he recoiled in pain, clutching his face. He doubled over as a result of the punch, allowing Hiccup to sweep his legs out from under him. Hiccup then delivered another kick, this time to his temple, knocking the Faunus out.

"Who's next?" Hiccup asked, turning to the three remaining members. Each of them turned and fled from the scene after witnessing the brief fight and deciding not to risk their chances against both of them, especially if they decided to work together.

The two trained fighters watched as the group of three White Fang members left their leader to his fate with the authorities. Blake was surprised at this, as she had never seen the White Fang flee so quickly as they would be punished severely for being afraid.

"Well, that was easy," Blake said, speaking up for the first time since the White Fang had shown up.

"They must have hated him a lot. It wasn't common for White Fang members to abandon their leaders that quickly when I was part of the White Fang." Blake continued.

"Even if they didn't like them, they wouldn't abandon them to the police as they hate humans as you can tell and they would be punished for not fighting," Blake commented before she glanced at Hiccup.

"Let's hand him over to the police," she said

Hiccup nodded and picked up the leader of the group, slinging him over his shoulder before handing him over to one of the police officers.

Hiccup dropped the Faunus at the feet of one of the police officer's who placed handcuffs on the Faunus' wrists and took him away.

Hiccup turned to leave when a voice spoke up.

"Wait!" The voice said and Hiccup heard footsteps quickly approach him. He turned to see three people gazing at him. Two of them were male and one was female.

One of the men was carrying a large camera, hoisted on his shoulder while the woman was holding a microphone with 'VNN' written on the side. Hiccup sighed as he recognized the woman as Lisa Lavender, a well-known journalist in Vale.

"What can I do for you?" Hiccup asked. "I'd like to take this one back to Beacon, she is a student there." Hiccup said, placing a hand on Blake's shoulder.

"I just want to ask you some questions sir. If you have time."

Hiccup sighed. "No can do Lisa. I have things to do so if you want to ask questions then you can speak to my boss, Ozpin, to schedule an interview. Good day."

"But sir, it will just take a minute-"

"I said good day. Come on Blake." Hiccup said and gestured for the huntress to follow him.

Hiccup started walking away and Blake followed when they both heard another set of footsteps following them.

Hiccup looked behind him and noticed another guy following him.

Hiccup groaned in irritation. "Do you people not give up?"

"Oh, I'm not part of VNN sir. Nils Anderson. Chief of the Vale police department." He introduced himself.

"Ok. Can I help you, sir?"

"Oh, I just wanted to tell you that was some impressive fighting the White Fang back there sir."

"Thank you, I guess? It wasn't that good. I only fought one guy."

"Still it was great that you helped us. So any time there is a protest, feel free to help. Also, if you want to ask our White Fang guest questions, you need only ask."

Hiccup nodded. "I'll keep that in mind, sir. Now like I told Lisa, I have to head back to Beacon."

"Of course sir, thanks again for the help."

* * *

Hiccup led Blake to his forge in Vale and entered the building.

"What are we doing here, weren't we going back to Beacon," Blake asked, confused.

"Well I did say we'd talk later and since I know everything important about you, I think you should know more about me. Come on."

Blake followed after Hiccup, finding herself intrigued to find out more about him.

"So, what do you want to find out first?" Hiccup asked Blake.

"How about how you knew that I was part of the White Fang."

"That's simple. When Ozpin told me about Adam Taurus, he showed me a video of him and a certain cat Faunus robbing a train filled with SDC dust. The robot droids you fought had cameras so the whole fight was filmed. Impressive fighting by the way." Hiccup smirked.

Blake blinked. "You're complimenting me for that?" she asked, surprised.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you're a good fighter." Hiccup replied.

Blake rolled her eyes. "I know that, idiot. I mean why don't you care that I robbed a train? I broke the law."

"Yes, but you also left the White Fang right? Those members from earlier said as much."

"Fair enough," Blake said but Hiccup continued

"Besides, your father, Ghira Belladonna, was in charge of the White Fang right? So he would be more guilty than you because it went from an organization that wants equality when he was in charge, to a terrorist group under Sienna, all while he did nothing to change it."

Blake bristled. "Don't ever say that again. Part of Beacon's staff or not, never insult my family." She growled, glaring at him

Hiccup was unfazed by this outburst, however, having seen worse from Glynda.

"Am I wrong?" Hiccup asked. "What has he done to change the White Fang since he left?"

Blake couldn't come up with an answer so she conceded to his point, albeit reluctantly.

"You win that time Hiccup." She said with a heavy sigh.

"Now that you have explained how you know about that secret, I want to know about your secrets."

"Alright, wait here. Also whatever you do, don't use your weapons. In fact, it would be best to put them out of reach." Blake shot him a confused look at the strange request but complied anyway.

Hiccup entered another room and left the room after a few moments. He stepped aside, allowing Blake to see behind him. She had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Standing behind Hiccup, Black as the night was a dragon with green eyes, that was looking at her in curiosity.

She let out a scream before scrambling for her weapon.

Hiccup reached the weapon first, however, and kicked it further out of reach.

"Blake! Calm down! He won't hurt you." Hiccup instructed her with a firm voice. She backed up until her back hit a wall and she couldn't go back any further. He then sat down near Toothless.

Blake looked at Toothless, afraid.

"Hiccup, that's a dragon," she said

"Yes"

"Why do you have a dragon?"

"Because I couldn't kill him." Hiccup said and Toothless laid his head on Hiccup's lap and Hiccup scratched him behind the ears, earning a content purr from the dragon. Blake relaxed at the sight.

"Why-" she paused and thought about what Hiccup had just said. "Wait for what?"

"Toothless would not be here if I had done what my village expected me to do. If you haven't figured it out already, I'm not from Remnant."

Blake blinked. "I'm not sure If I believe that you're not from Remnant but it would explain the dragon. We would have heard about dragons if you were from here."

"Tell me more."

"Curious eh? You've heard the saying about curious cats right?" Hiccup said, smirking once again.

"Hilarious. Are you going to tell me more or just keep making jokes?" Blake said, dryly.

"Alright. So I guess I'll tell you about my life from when I met Toothless until this point."

"Ok. But before you do that, I have to ask: why do you call the dragon Toothless?"

"Show her bud."

Toothless opened his mouth and retracted his teeth before returning his teeth to their normal position.

Toothless then moved his head off Hiccup's lap, moving away to fall asleep while they continued to talk.

"Soon after we first met, he had his teeth retracted and I assumed he was Toothless when I fed him a fish. I guess the name stuck since then."

"He eats fish?" Blake asked

"Yes. he eats all kinds of fish, except eels. Dragons are scared of eels."

"Huh."

"Not what you were expecting." Hiccup mused.

"No. If you hadn't told me, I would have thought he would eat people or something. He does look a bit like Grim."

"Yeah, I've heard that before. But I promise you, that unless you try and attack me or him, he is a big softie. And he definitely doesn't eat people."

"That's why you told me to put my weapon away." Hiccup nodded in confirmation.

"He wouldn't let me even have a dagger when I tried to feed him, even though I would have been no threat to him."

"Now onto the story, I said I was going to tell you." Hiccup said before he began the story.

He told Blake everything. He told her about his father and the expectations of his Village.

He told her how we were bullied for years by the teens of Berk, including his own cousin and Dagur, whenever he arrived for treaty signings with his father Oswald.

He told her about Astrid and how he had a crush on her.

Then he told her how she found out about Toothless and when he left. Finally, he mentioned how he found a portal and ended up in Remnant and the events since then.

"There, that is everything you should know about me."

"Wow. Harsh life" Blake commented, grimacing. "I would have left much sooner if I was bullied that much."

Hiccup sighed sadly. "Yeah"

"Sorry," Blake apologized.

Hiccup glanced at her. "For what?" He asked

"For bringing up sad memories," she replied.

Hiccup waved her off. "It's fine. I've thought of Berk before you know. We should head back to Beacon."

"Wait. Why tell me all this? I could tell everyone what I know about you."

"Because I trust you. Also, you don't seem like the kind of person to do that. Besides even if you did tell everyone, who would believe you.

Also, it would be very easy to kidnap you. You'd be surprised how little people look up. You'd never see me coming, even in daylight. You would be too focused on your books." Hiccup finished with a smirk.

"Alright, you win," Blake said, playfully punching him on the shoulder when a thought came to her.

"That's why you helped Velvet right? Because you've been bullied yourself." Blake said, realization coming to her.

"Yes. Cardin reminds me of my cousin, Snotlout in all but name."

"I still can't believe that's his name. You Vikings aren't good with names are you?" Blake chuckled.

"We're really not." Hiccup agreed. "But at least not everyone in Berk suffers from bad luck. Astrid means divine beauty."

"Ok. Come on Hiccup, let's head back to Beacon before my team starts to worry." Blake said, standing up and leaving the forge

"Yes, sir." Hiccup said mocking a soldier salute before he also stood up and hurried after her.

* * *

Meanwhile, in an unknown location in Vale.

The three White Fang members ducked in sync as the leader of the Vale branch of the White Fang threw a glass at them. It shattered as it hit the wall behind them.

"Explain to me, why you didn't stay and fight this Human?" Adam Taurus demanded.

"W-we thought it would be a good idea to tell you we found Blake Belladonna." One of the trio said nervously.

Adam drew his sword and held it up to the Faunus neck and he gulped, afraid.

"Do you know where she is now?" Adam asked. The Faunus shook his head and Adam sighed in disappointment.

"Then you are of no use to me," Adam said and slit his throat, killing him.

He turned to the two other Faunus' who were staring at their dead friend's body in horror.

"Keep looking for Blake, find out where she is hiding and bring her to me. Kill this human if you find him. And next time, don't leave anyone behind for the authorities to catch or you will end up like him." Adam instructed them.

"Now go."

They nodded and quickly left the room. When they were gone, Adam let out a heavy sigh before he grinned, evilly.

"I will find you my darling, and you will pay for leaving me."

* * *

Hiccup and Blake arrived back at Beacon to find Glynda Goodwitch waiting for them. She seemed even angrier than usual, which was a feat in itself.

"Glynda, I can explain-"

"I don't want to hear it Hiccup, or you will be in trouble as well."

Hiccup became silent immediately and Glynda looked at Blake

"Miss Belladonna, I will let you off with a warning this time, but don't skip class again or you will have two weeks detention. Deal?"

"Ok"

"Good. Now off you go. I want to speak to Hiccup about something."

Once Blake was out of earshot, Glynda spoke up again.

"We have an unwelcome guest due to your actions yesterday."

"Ok, and where is this 'unwelcome guest'?" Hiccup asked.

"In Ozpin's office with Cardin Winchester."

"It's his dad, isn't it?" Hiccup guessed and Glynda nodded.

Hiccup groaned, irritated. "Ok, describe him to me while we walk over there." He said, sighing heavily.

"Well, he is the head of the Vale council and a snob." Glynda deadpanned.

Hiccup sighed. "Well, let's get this over with then."

"Ok. But as he is the head of the council, you should not mention your true age or both you and the school will be in trouble."

"Ok." Hiccup extended a hand. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third at your service. I'm 21, not 17. That old enough?" Hiccup asked teasingly.

Glynda chuckled. "That should do fine. Come on." And she leads the way to the headmaster's office.

* * *

Ozpin was lounging in his office while attempting to ignore one of the two other occupants of the room that had caused the headmaster of Beacon to receive a headache.

The situation was made worse by the fact that the occupant in question - Henry Winchester, (who looked exactly like Cardin who was also in the room, albeit older looking than his son) - was the head of the Vale council.

And a complete snob.

Meaning that he had enough power to sack Ozpin and put another Headmaster in his place if he deemed him unsuitable for the job. Or he didn't like him. (The latter definitely applied here.)

Ozpin was so fed up hearing Henry talk, that he was contemplating the idea of begging Glynda to throw him out of the large window directly behind him using her semblance.

He was sure he would have no regrets, and he would suffer no consequences, as Henry wasn't particularly popular among the council, despite his position as leader.

Ozpin was saved from his torment a few minutes later when the door to his Office opened and Hiccup and Glynda entered the room.

Henry Winchester turned to face them and a confused expression formed on his face as he looked at Hiccup.

"Excuse me Miss Goodwitch, but why have you brought a student here?" Henry asked.

"I'm not a student sir. I work here."

"Excuse me, is your name Miss Goodwitch?" Henry sneered in contempt. "Don't talk unless directly spoken to."

Hiccup grit his teeth. His glare towards the man didn't go unnoticed either.

"You should know your betters boy." Cardin Winchester - who was also in the room sneered while Henry smiled smugly at Hiccup. Hiccup crossed his arms and stared the men down, much to the amusement of Ozpin.

"Enough of this," Henry growled as he looked away from Hiccup. "Now where is the guidance counselor that humiliated my son?"

"That would be me," Hiccup announced through grit teeth and Henry looked at him, surprised.

"Really?"

"Yes"

Henry turned to Ozpin.

"I wasn't aware that you employed minors Ozpin. The council will hear about this."

"About the fact that Ozpin employs a twenty-one year old as Beacon's guidance counselor? I can really see the problem here." Hiccup said, rolling his eyes.

"What did I say about speaking up when I'm talking?!" Henry sneered as he looked at Hiccup like he was something to be scraped off the bottom of his shoe.

"Considering that you are talking about me, then I have every right to butt in. You don't see me ignoring you while talking about your obvious lack of manners, now do you?" Hiccup countered and Glynda had to place her hand in front of her mouth to stifle a giggle at the Winchester's befuddled expressions.

Henry blanched and stuttered, his cheeks turning pink after being called out by Hiccup.

"M-Moving on" He spluttered, embarrassed. "My son told me that you humiliated him in front of the school yesterday. Explain to me why you did that." Henry demanded.

"Because your son was bullying another student." Hiccup replied.

Henry scoffed. "The student in question was a rabbit Faunus."

"Why should that matter?"

"Because Faunus' are all murderers and thieves. They can't be trusted." Henry said, sounding as if he were speaking to a very small child.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "I figured as much." He muttered under as breath.

"So what do you want me to do?"

"I want you to ignore any time you think my son is bullying someone." Henry took some lien out of his pocket.

"I will even pay you some money."

"Keep the money. My answer is no."

"No? No? You have any idea who I am?" Henry sputtered for a second time not believing the audacity Hiccup has shown.

"Besides the obvious relation to Cardin here, no. And I don't actually care either." Hiccup replied and then brushed off some imaginary lint off his shoulder. "You obviously have a big ego, which I'm surprised fits into your tiny skull, meaning that you have some influence, but don't think that money would sway me.

Henry went puce from rage. He strode over to Hiccup and lifted him up to his eye level.

"I am the head of the Vale council. I run Vale. You obey me." Henry hissed, furious.

"Are you a hunter sir?"

"No…," he said, slightly perplexed by the question.

"Good." Hiccup then punched Henry in the gut and the man dropped Hiccup as he doubled over in pain.

"Hiccup!" Glynda shouted in shock at his actions, but he paid her no heed.

Hiccup lifted Henry's face up so he was looking directly at him.

"Don't ever try to bribe me again. You may be influential out there, but in this school, only how well you can fight matters, and I'm a bigger fish than you in that regard. Don't forget that."

Hiccup then took a step back and let him catch his breath.

Henry stood up and glared at Hiccup as he straightened his suit.

"I can see we're not getting anywhere." He spat in disgust. "Maybe if I make you a janitor then your attitude would improve. You seem you would be quite useless otherwise."

"Excuse me?" Hiccup said, his voice filled with anger at the comment.

"I said you seem quite useless," Henry repeated, having the audacity to smirk at Hiccup.

Hiccup's blood boiled at this comment and flames sprouted from each hand without him noticing.

"Hiccup," Glynda said, trying to get his attention as she noticed the flames.

"Do I need to fight you again? Because you clearly have no idea of when you should some respect." Hiccup said, stepping closer to Henry, who took a nervous step backward, focused on the flames that were covering Hiccup's hands

"Hiccup" Glynda repeated, a bit louder but Hiccup still didn't notice. Henry's back now hit a wall and he was now quite afraid as Hiccup walked ever closer to him.

"Should I use my weapons this time? Maybe that will do the trick." Hiccup said, stepping into Henry's personal space.

"Hiccup!" Glynda shouted in frustration. This time she got his attention.

It was however too late as Hiccup was close enough to the head of the Vale Council that his suit caught on fire.

Henry let out a rather unmanly scream and everyone looked at him. Ozpin his a smile behind a hand and resisted the urge to laugh at the situation while Cardin hurried over to help his dad and Hiccup looked sheepishly at Glynda after he figured out the source of the flames, while Glynda shook her head with a heavy sigh.

"You were trying to tell me about that weren't you?" Hiccup sighed.

"Yes, I was. Now, sir, I think it would be best if I escorted you off the premises before anything else bad happens." Glynda said with a fake frown as she was secretly happy that Henry's suit was set on fire, not that she would tell Hiccup about that.

"That would be best I think. Come on son." Henry said while they both directed glares at Hiccup as they left Ozpin's office.

The owner of said office glanced at Hiccup with a smile. "Congratulations Hiccup," Ozpin said. "It seems you've discovered your semblance."

Hiccup found himself quite excited by the news.

* * *

A/N: As usual don't forget to review (seriously where's the love? Only two people have been reviewing each chapter lately). The two or three new followers of the story, welcome! I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

Until next time readers.

Silvolde.


	9. Why did you save me?

A New World

Chapter 9: Why did you save me?

A/N: Welp, here's another chapter for you all to enjoy.

This one was one of the hardest to write, and this is the third draft. I had one draft involving a chess match between Hiccup and Jaune of all things.

This chapter will be the end of the Cardin/Jaune bullying arc that is in this story and the start of another arc.

Soon you'll all see some more Hiccup and Blake stuff as well as another character from team CRDL.

Also before you all read the chapter I want to tell you all that this story now has more favorites and followers than any of my other stories. Thank you all for that! (If only I could get more than 37 reviews. Make it happen! lol)

Jokes aside and without further ado. Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Hiccup and Ozpin were sparring in one of the training rooms while having a conversation.

Ozpin lunged at Hiccup with his cane. "So Hiccup. How did the protest that you were at yesterday turn out?"

Hiccup blocked Ozpin's cane with his axes before replying. "Better than I thought. A group of four White Fang members arrived but they didn't put up much of a fight. I managed to knock one of them out but the rest ran away. Blake was also there, but I guess you already know that."

"Indeed I do," Ozpin swung his cane, forcing Hiccup to duck.

"Would you happen to know anyone who can teach me how to control my semblance better?" Hiccup asked as he ducked once more when Ozpin swung his cane for the second time.

Ozpin nodded his head as he blocked Hiccup's axes by holding up his cane when Hiccup lunged at him. "Yes, Yang Xiao Long might be able to help you with that." Ozpin replied before swinging at Hiccup again who brought up his axes again but was forced back a few steps, due to the momentum of the strike.

Ozpin retracted his cane, signalling the end of the fight. "So like I said, Yang Xiao Long seems like she would be able to teach you to control your semblance. Also, are you able to help Glynda keep watch for Grim on the field trip tomorrow?" Ozpin asked.

"Yes," Hiccup replied.

"Good. I'll tell Glynda you volunteered to help," Ozpin said before he left the room.

Hiccup took out his scroll and dialled a number. "Hey Yang?" Hiccup asked when the phone stopped ringing and Yang responded.

"Yes Hiccup?" she asked.

"Can I call in a favour?"

"Sure! What about?" Yang wondered.

"It's about my semblance…" Hiccup began.

* * *

After the call with Yang, Hiccup headed for the Vale police HQ.

"Can I help you?" The receptionist asked, noticing him enter the building.

"Yes I would like to speak to a certain prisoner," Hiccup said

"Sorry sir, but you need permission from the chief to see anyone."

"Nils Anderson you mean?" The receptionist nodded.

"I got permission from him yesterday at the faunus protest."

"I doubt that sir but you're welcome to wait, his meeting should be ending soon," She said, pointing to a couch nearby and opposite reception.

"Thank you," Hiccup sat down on the couch.

A few minutes later, the chief came out of his office and noticed Hiccup waiting for him.

"Hello sir!" Nils Anderson greeted Hiccup, who waved at him and Hiccup smiled when the receptionist's jaw dropped at the greeting the chief gave Hiccup. "Here to see our faunus guest I presume?" Hiccup nodded. "Follow me then," Nils said and Hiccup stood up and followed the chief.

Nils led him to a door behind reception. Going through the door, they ended up passing through a set of double doors and a room filled with holding cells on either side, leaving a narrow hallway in the middle. At the end of the hallway stood a large steel door.

Nils took out a set of keys and proceeded to open the door.

"What was that back there? You acted like I was your favorite boss," Hiccup asked. Nils chuckled. "That was for Amy back there. She can be quite… dismissive of anyone but me. But if I act like your my best friend, then she will like you too," Nils said and Hiccup grinned.

Nils opened the door and they entered. The White Fang member in the cell snarled when he saw Hiccup and the chief enter.

"Human Scum," the faunus spat in a condescending tone.

"Two can play at that game, Animal," Hiccup replied, purposely to rile him up.

It worked, as the faunus lunged at the bars of the holding cell.

"Take that back!" The faunus snarled.

"Why? If you can't handle name calling, then don't call other people names. Speaking of names, what is yours?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"You don't have to, but otherwise I'll keep calling you 'the faunus' in my head and I'm sure you don't want that. Also how old are you and where is the headquarters of the Vale branch of the White Fang?"

"I'm not going to tell you, human!" The faunus growled.

Hiccup ignored him and looked at Nils. "Would it be ok if I have some time with the prisoner alone?" Hiccup asked.

"We don't allow torture."

"I'm not going to torture him. Unless name calling is considered torture. I'm going to try and get information out of him," Hiccup replied

"Alright," Nils sighed. "Take as long as you need. I'll be right outside if you need anything," he said before leaving the room.

Hiccup then turns to the faunus as the door closes with a loud bang. Hiccup smirked and leant forward. "Do you know who Jacque Schnee is?" Hiccup asked.

* * *

Five minutes later, Hiccup called Nils back into the cell.

Nils was shocked at the sight that greeted him. The faunus in the cell was in tears. "What did you do?" Nils asked, slightly horrified and not quite sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"I simply called him Jacque Schnee until he told me his name, age and where the White Fang Vale base was," Hiccup replied.

"Oh that's cruel. Good thinking," Nils complimented him with a smirk.

"Indeed. Now I can show you where the base is on a map and you can keep an eye on them."

"We may assault the base if we get permission, and if that does happen I'm putting in a recommendation for you to lead it."

"I guess. But of course, I'd have to let Ozpin know."

"Of course. Now let me get a map."

* * *

The next day, Glynda and Hiccup lead teams RWBY, JNPR, and CRDL through Forever Fall, a forest that earned the name due to the leaves on the trees never changing from colours associated with Autumn.

Glynda turned to the group.

"Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sightsee. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and Hiccup and I are here to make sure none of you die while doing so."

The group stops, and Jaune, grunting and carrying a large case with six empty glass jars on top, tries to catch up with them and ends up bumping into Cardin. The bully scowls at Jaune, who attempts to feign innocence by whistling tunelessly.

Glynda is still instructing her group, holding up a full jar of their objective.

"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here at 4 o'clock. Have fun!"

While Yang Xiao Long and her sister smile at one another, Jaune attempts to noisily sneak away from Cardin to his team, but the blackmailer sees this and grabs Jaune by the back.

"Come on, buddy - let's go!" Cardin says mockingly.

Jaune miserably looks up at his team, where Nora and Ren are already walking into the forest's depths and Pyrrha is staring sadly at the scene. Dropping his gaze, Jaune turns and follows CRDL, to the disappointment of a sighing Pyrrha before she continues on.

* * *

Team CRDL is making themselves as comfortable as possible by leaning on stones, trees, and the ground while Jaune returns to the group with six full jars, setting them down just as he collapses face-down. The surrounding team gets up in response.

"Hey, great work, Jauney boy! Now that wasn't too hard, was it?"

Jaune is still on the ground, cross-eyed and sounding dizzy.

"I think I'm allergic to this stuff..."

"Greeeeat, great, great." Cardin mutters, disinterested. "So, Jaune, I bet you're asking yourself, 'Why did my buddy Cardin ask me to collect six jars of tree sap when there's only five of us?'"

Jaune nods, still exhausted, "That is one of the many questions I have asked myself today, yes."

Cardin continues to speak as Jaune sits up. "Well, come with me, and you'll find out."

Jaune moans and gulps in worry.

* * *

Now perched on a hilltop overlooking the other students, team CRDL - plus Jaune, squeezed between Cardin and Russel Thrush - peak their heads over the crest and watch as everyone is retrieving their samples of sap. Ren, kneeling to collect it from a tree, passes a full jar to Nora, who "Mmmm!"s at the gift as Ren trades it for the other jar in her care. He turns back to the tree and starts filling it hearing some licking noises, Ren looks back atNora, who had an embarrassed smile covered in red and an empty jar in her hands.

Jaune turns to his left. "Cardin, wh-what's going on?"

Cardin is still staring at the unsuspecting group sharply and his eyes narrow on Hiccup, who was standing nearby.

"Payback," Cardin growls.

Jaune widens his eyes in understanding "Hiccup...?" he watches the staff member glance around looking for Grim while the rest of team JNPR continue to collect sap.

"Wh-what are you-?" Jaune stammers nervously

Cardin pounds his fist on the ground. "That's the guy. Brown haired know-it-all, thinks he's so smart. Alright, boys..." Cardin trails off as he pulls out a buzzing cardboard box with a large "W" written on its sides.

"Last night, old Jaune here managed to round up an entire box of Rapier Wasps, and now, we're gonna put him to work." Cardin says.

Russel grabs Jaune by the shoulder, who laughs in nervousness.

"Now, according to one of the essays you wrote for me last week, these nasty things loooove sweets." Hiccup is talking to team JNPR's members, minus Jaune as he continued to watch for Grim.

"I'm thinking it's time we teach him a thing or two."

The members of CRDL get up. Cardin offers his hand to Jaune, only to painfully yank him up on his feet and shove the jar into his grasp.

"And you're gonna do it," Cardin tells him.

"Do what?"

"Hit him with the sap!" Cardin exclaims before he leans in close to Jaune's face.

"Either that, or I'll have a chat with Goodwitch, and you'll be on the first airship out of Beacon."

Jaune looks down at the jar of sap in his hands and then up at the four grinning teammates waiting to see what happens. Jaune turns towards the group and aims his throw at an oblivious Hiccup, trying to steel his nerves and shaking hand to do the deed, but ultimately steels himself for what he's about to do.

"No."

"What did you say?" Cardin asks, taken aback. Jaune grips the jar tightly.

"I said... NO!"

He turns and throws the jar at Cardin, instantly recoiling his hands to himself as he looks at Cardin's breastplate covered in sap. The other team leader, however, just looks at himself and laughs darkly.

"Oh, you've done it now!"

Jaune humorlessly laughs to himself once more with his hands still raised in an attempt for defense as Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark grab Jaune's shoulders and pull him up. Jayne's eyes fill with fear as he realizes his mistake.

Jaune Arc is pushed to the ground, groaning as he looks up and sees a sap-covered Cardin looming over him. The bigger warrior picks Jaune up by his front and grins before punching him back to the ground.

"You know that wasn't very smart, Jauney boy."

Cardin picks up a bruised Jaune again while the rest of Team CRDL watches.

"I'm gonna make sure they send you back to mommy in teeny tiny pieces."

"I don't care what you do to me..." Jaune said as he looks at Cardin with fury "... but you are not messing with Hiccup."

Cardin looks momentarily shocked.

"What? You think talk like that makes you tough? You think you're a big strong man now?"

Jaune smiles in defiance. An enraged Cardin roars and raises his fist again, but just as the hit connects, a bright light shines from Jaune, and when the white light fades away, Cardin is crying out in pain as he holds his hand. Jaune, now back on the ground but completely healed, looks confusedly at his hands as they faintly glow white. While he stares, though, Sky Lark kicks Jaune in the back and gets him on his stomach, but he looks up and glares at the approaching Cardin.

"Let's see how much of a man you really are!" Just as he said this, a low growl is heard, and a surprised Team CRDL turns around and sees a large paw crash onto the scene, belonging to a huge Ursa Major with dozens of jagged spikes sticking out from its wide back. It leaps forward and stands over the terrified students, lifting its head in the air to smell the sap on Cardin's breastplate. It lands back on its forelegs and roars at Cardin while his teammates heroically flee.

"That's a big Ursa!" Russell exclaims while running away.

Cardin is rooted to the spot when the Grimm swings its claws and knocks him sideways, revealing Jaune cowering behind him. The Ursa continues to sniff, uninterested in Jaune and following its nose to Cardin. He watches at it towers over Cardin, who gets his wits and pulls out his mace weapon only for the monster to swipe it away to Jaune's feet. Jaune looks conflicted, wondering whether to fight or run away.

* * *

Meanwhile, the roar of the giant Ursa is heard by the members of Teams RWBY and JNPR, still collecting sap on the other side of the forest. Ruby gets up, concerned.

"Did you guys hear that?"

Suddenly, the remaining members of Team CRDL are seen running the other way from the roar through the other students.

"Ursa! Ursa!" Russell shouts and runs into Yang accidentally.

"What?!" Yang exclaims completely unfazed by the collision, she picks him up by the front of his shirt. "Where?"

Russell, struggling and still trying to running dispite being in the air, points back from where they came. "Back there! It's got Cardin!"

Pyrrha drops her jar of sap "Jaune!" She says, worriedly while Ruby goes into leader mode and starts giving out orders.

"Yang! You and Blake, go get Professor Goodwitch!" Hiccup coughs and looks pointedly at Ruby. "Did you forget I was here?" He asks and Ruby looks sheepishly at him. "Sorry," she says.

"It's ok. You go bring Glynda and I'll go rescue Jaune," He glances at Pyrrha. "I expect you'll come along?"

"Of course."

"Good, then let's go!" Hiccup states, grabbing his weapons.

Dropping Russel, Yang and Blake nod before following the orders

Pyrrha turns to Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie as she and Ruby activate their weapons. "You two, go with them! There could be more!"

* * *

Cardin is attempting to run from the following Ursa, but it leaps over its prey and claws him away. He tries to get up and crawl away.

"Crap! Crap, crap!" Cardin shouts, afraid for his life As Pyrrha, Ruby, Hiccup and Weiss come on to the scene.

"Oh, no!" Pyrrha says.

They watch as the Ursa leans over the helpless victim, raising its paw and swiping it down... only to be blocked by Jaune's shield, Crocea Mors. He struggles to defend a stunned Cardin from its attempts to lean on him.

Jaune takes the shield out from the Ursa's paw and slashes at its stomach, causing it to lash out and try to crush him. He rolls out of the way and jumps over its swipe at his feet, but he is unprepared for when it launches a claw at him in midair. He lands far away, yet is immediately back on his feet and passing Cardin as he charges again. The Ursa knocks Jaune behind it when he tries for a leaping attack, and he looks at the Scroll in his shield to find out that his Aura level is in the red. He grows angry again and starts to run at the Ursa as it also begins to dash towards him.

As they are just about to clash in slow-motion, Pyrrha hears multiple gunshots ring out and the Ursa turns into a cloud of black smoke, which dissipates quickly and Jaune looks confused for a moment before noticing that Hiccup had killed the Grim.

Ruby looks at Hiccup in awe. "May I?" She asks and Hiccup rolls his eyes playfully as he gives her his weapons to examine. "I forgot that was your thing," Hiccup states, ruffling Ruby's hair before approaching Jaune.

"Are you ok?" Hiccup asks, offering a hand to the blond haired boy. Jaune sheathes his weapon and grasps Hiccup's hand before he is pulled to his feet.

"Now I think you should go talk to Pyrrha or something. I have to deal with him." Hiccup mutters and doesn't wait for an answer before going over to Cardin.

Cardin, still covered in sap, looks up at his saviour as he offers a hand. Cardin takes it and is lifted back up on his feet.

"Not that I'm ungrateful or anything sir, but why did you save me? I've not done anything to deserve that."

"The reason is simple. It was the right thing to do. I would do it for any student, regardless of whether I like them or not. That being said…" Hiccup leans forward,threateningly. "...Don't ever mess with a student at Beacon - human or faunus - ever again." Hiccup threatened as he stares Cardin dead in the eye. "Got it?"

Cardin looked intimidated, possibly even apologetic. With his order spoken, Hiccup turns and walks away from a frozen Cardin. Glynda now shows up, with the remaining members of teams RWBY and JNPR trailing behind. "What happened? Is everyone alright?" She asks, looking around.

"Everyone's fine." Hiccup responded. "In fact, I think Cardin won't be bullying anyone anymore."

"Regardless, I want to know what happened here, and I think the fact that Cardin has sap on his armour has something to do with it." Glynda replied.

"We shall discuss it back at Beacon." She said, using a tone that left no room for argument.

Back at Beacon, in Ozpin's office, Glynda was furious at the story she had been told by Jaune.

"You tried to injure and potentially kill Hiccup using rapier wasps, knowing that these wasps sting's can penetrate aura?!" She bellowed and both Cardin and Jaune took a few steps back, afraid.

"But I'm still here, sting free." Hiccup, who was standing nearby, pointed out, and Glynda snapped around to face him.

She looked totally bewildered. "You're saying you don't care?!" She shrieked while looking at him incredulously. "You almost died!"

"I never said I don't care, I just said I'm not dead. There is a difference. Now I think we should give him a second chance for now, meaning that he gets off with this, but if he bullies anyone else, regardless of how bad it is, he will be expelled. We'll also be telling Henry Winchester everything that happened on the trip," Hiccup said.

Cardin opened his mouth to protest but remained silent when Hiccup spoke again. "I wouldn't recommend saying anything Cardin, this is quite a serious matter and I could have you expelled. I'm giving you one last chance however so I recommend you use it wisely."

Hiccup then glanced at Glynda, who still seemed unhappy with his decision. She let out a long sigh.

"If I was in your position, he would definitely be expelled. But since he was trying to hurt you, I'll let this matter drop for now," Glynda said, looking like she was eating a particularly sour lemon as she said this.

"Thank you Glynda," Hiccup said sighing and she nodded before glaring at Cardin.

"Hiccup is more forgiving than I am so listen closely," She looked directly at his eyes.

"Do anything to hurt Hiccup again, and expulsion will be the least of your worries," She threatened. "Got it?" She ask and Cardin gulped before nodding vigorously and running from the room, trailed by Jaune.

Cardin returned to his team dorm room and his entire team looked at him when he entered the room.

"What happened? Did you get expelled?" Russell asked.

"No. But if I bully anyone else then I get expelled," Cardin replied, and the three other members of the team sighed in relief.

"Alright, I guess that isn't so bad. I'm going to call someone, be back in a few minutes." Russell said before he left the room.

Russell made sure there was nobody close enough that he would be overheard before taking out his scroll and dialling a number.

"What? Who is this?" Henry Winchester asked when the call connected, not recognizing the number.

"This is Russell Thrush, I'm on the same team as Cardin." Russell said

"Alright what is it? I have important stuff to do." Henry replied

"I have information that you might like to know about a student. His name is Jaune Arc."

"Oh?" Henry replied, intrigued. "Tell me more."

"Gladly." Russell replied with a smirk.

* * *

Later that night, on top of the dorm building, a uniformed Jaune stands on the edge and looks into the distance at the green lights of Beacon.

"No Cardin tonight?" Pyrrha asks, walking to his side.

"I thought you two were best buds?"

Jaune turns to her.

"Pyrrha... I'm sorry. I was a jerk! You were only trying to be nice, and... I had all this stupid macho stuff in my head-"

"Jaune! It's okay!" Pyrrha exclaims. as they smile at one another, she adds: "Your team really misses their leader, you know." she begins to walk to the exit. "You should come down! Ren made pancakes! No syrup, though - you can thank Nora for that!"

Jaune smiles, but holds out his hand and calls out. "Wait!" Pyrrha turns around, and Jaune looks sheepish.

"I know I don't deserve it after all that happened, but... would you still be willing to help me... to help me become a better fighter?"

Pyrrha turns around so a worried Jaune won't see her satisfied smile. She goes up to Jaune and suddenly pushes her leader to the ground.

Jaune whines. "Hey!"

Pyrrha stands over him with her arms on her hips and an evaluating tone says: "Your stance is all wrong. You need to be wider and lower to the ground."

She offers him her hand, which he graciously accepts, and they continue to hold on to and grin at each other "Let's try that again."

They hear someone clapping slowly behind them. "Well ain't this cute."

They both turn to see Hiccup smirk at them before his expression turned serious.

"Didn't I tell you to apologise to Pyrrha two days ago?" Hiccup asked. "Why did you wait until now?" Hiccup demanded.

Jaune scratched his neck nervously while looking sheepishly at him, unable to come up with an answer. Hiccup sighed and turned around. "Well I'll leave you two lovebirds to it," Hiccup called over his shoulder as he left the roof.

"Wait what?" Jaune exclaimed as Pyrrha blushed.

Jaune looked at Pyrrha. "What does he mean?"

"Nothing!" She exclaims quickly while evading the question.

"Right…" Jaune didn't believe her fully but he let the matter slide, to Pyrrha's relief.

"Now, let's start your training," Pyrrha says and Jaune nods, getting into a stance like Pyrrha instructed.

* * *

A/N: So how did you like that diversion from canon, and how are you all liking the story so far? Enough Hiccup in the story, or do Y'all want more?

Review and let me know. (I hope the former is the case)

Until next time.

Silvolde.


	10. Expelled

A New World

Chapter 10: Expelled

A/N: Almost done with Volume 1. I mean this chapter marks the end of the events in Volume 1 of RWBY, but I have plot points to fill before Volume 2. Enjoy!

* * *

Hiccup was awoken when his scroll went off - telling him that he had an important message. He glanced at it and then hurried to get dressed before heading to Ozpin's office.

"You wanted to see me sir?" Hiccup asked when he entered his office and saw Ozpin, Glynda and Henry Winchester were all in the room.

"Yes I did. This is about Jaune, he's expelled and is getting packed ready to leave. It has come to my attention that his transcripts were forged," Ozpin said grimly.

Hiccup pretended to be shocked. "Really?" He asked, taken aback.

Ozpin nodded and Hiccup looked at the head of the Vale council.

"Did he tell you about this?" Hiccup asked, addressing Ozpin while staring at Henry.

"Yes," Ozpin replied. "Where are you going with this Hiccup?" Ozpin asked.

"I'm just wondering who told him about Jaune's transcripts. Because we didn't tell Henry here so who did," Hiccup wondered.

"I can be directly spoken to you know," Henry said, irritated.

"Be quiet, this is now a Beacon staff issue and you're not part of the staff," Hiccup snapped and Glynda hid her smile behind her hand while Ozpin had to take a sip of his coffee in order to hide his smile as Henry face turned red in anger.

"I'm thinking team CRDL is involved. Maybe Cardin? Unless you know the name of whoever spoke to you," Hiccup said, turning to Henry.

"He said his name was Russell Thrush and that he was on the same team as my son," Henry said through gritted teeth.

"I'll call the team here and let Glynda here deal with Russell. You should go talk to Jaune's team. They were was quite upset about him being expelled, especially Pyrrha. You should also leave Henry," Ozpin said turning to him.

He was taken aback by this but stood his ground until Glynda glared at him and he practically ran from the room with Hiccup following at a leisurely pace.

As Hiccup made his way to the dorms, he heard Ozpin make an announcement, calling for team CRDL to go to his office.

He knocked on team JNPR's room and waited for the door to open. It was opened by Pyrrha, who looked like she had been crying recently.

"Hello Hiccup," Pyrrha said, her voice void of any happiness.

"Hi Pyrrha. You don't look so good. What's wrong?" Hiccup asked, again pretending that he didn't know already.

"Jaune is getting expelled." Pyrrha replied sadly.

"Oh. ok. Well I might have a solution for how you and your team can continue to see him, even if he is no longer a student here." Hiccup said and Pyrrha's expression became hopeful.

"Really?" She asked, now slightly more like her usual self. "How?"

"He can stay at my forge in Vale. Ever since Ozpin made me the Guidance Counselor here, I've had less time to go there."

Pyrrha's face brightened up. "I'll tell him the good news. Thank you Hiccup." she said genuinely.

"Any time." Hiccup grinned.

He then felt his scroll vibrate. He glanced at it and then looked at Pyrrha.

"You'll be pleased to know that all of team CRDL have a month of detention and Russell Thrush, the person who got Jaune expelled, is on the verge of being expelled himself." Hiccup said, holding up his scroll so Pyrrha could see.

"You're welcome by the way," Hiccup said after she had seen the message from Ozpin.

"Sorry. Just can't believe it," Pyrrha said.

"Alright. Now tell Jaune that he can go to my forge when he is ready. A room will be waiting for him."

"I will," she promised. "Thanks again."

* * *

The streets of Vale are being decorated in time for the Vytal Festival. Red, yellow, and green streamers and balloons are proudly on display, and Team RWBY is strolling through it all with an awed Weiss Schnee walking at the front.

A sign is being put up by an elderly Shopkeep - the same Shopkeep who was present when Ruby stopped Roman Torchwick from robbing his dust store. The sign reads in bright red letters "WELCOME TO VALE!" for all the foreign newcomers from their respective kingdoms of Remnant to see.

Weiss stopped and raised her arms in amazement.

"The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!" she exclaimed.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much, Weiss." Ruby said before she frowned a little. "It's kinda weirding me out…"

Weiss turned to Ruby.

"How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances! Parades! A tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!" Weiss said as they continued walking.

Yang sighed, arms crossed. "You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring." She deadpanned.

"Quiet, you!" Weiss snapped.

As they stop near the docks and the sounds of foghorns are heard, Yang speaks up again.

"Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon visiting the stupid docks?" she asked, annoyed at having to do so.

Ruby covered her nose. "Ugh, they smell like fish!" she said in disgust.

"I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today. And, as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom!" Weiss replied while simultaneously ignoring Yang and Ruby.

Weiss starts walking away again.

"She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament." Blake interjected.

Weiss scoffs. "You can't prove that!"

Ruby turns her head to the right. "Whoa," she says and attracts the attention of the rest of the team. The team follow Ruby's gaze to a shattered window down the street and a door full of yellow caution tape of the Vale Police Force before they all walk over to one of the two detectives standing in front of the store, who is writing on his pad.

"What happened here?" Ruby asks.

"Robbery. Second Dust shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle," The detective replies before he walks over to his partner.

Yang sighs sadly "That's terrible."

"They left all the money again," the second detective says to his partner.

Ruby turns her head when she hears this.

"Huh?" she asks but received no answer from the detectives who were talking to each other, no longer paying attention to Ruby.

"Yeah, just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that much Dust?" The first detective replies.

"I don't know, an army?" His partner asks.

"You thinking the White Fang?" The first detective responded as is partner removes his sunglasses.

"Yeah, I'm also thinking that we don't get paid enough."

"Hmph! The White Fang." Weiss says in disgust, crossing her arms and pointing her nose in the air with her eyes closed "What an awful bunch of degenerates!"

"What's your problem?" Blake asks

Weiss turns to her. "My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane."

"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths," Blake responds crossing her arms, getting serious "They're a collection of misguided Faunus."

Weiss is taken aback. "Misguided? They want to wipe Humanity off the face of the planet!"

"So then they're very misguided. Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale!" Blake exclaims.

"Hmm... Blake's got a point. Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago…Maybe it was him," Ruby says, coming to Blake's defense.

"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum," Weiss replies, oblivious to Blake's growing anger. "Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."

"That's not necessarily true…" Yang interrupts but trails off when the team here comotion occur in the distance.

"Hey, stop that Faunus!" a voice calls out

As the team overhear the cry for help and rush over to investigate, a Faunus with a golden monkey tail is seen running down the length of a boat and leaping on to the edge as two sailors are about to apprehend him.

The faunus looks back at his pursuers with a smirk. "Thanks for the ride, guys! Haha!" He jumps off and hits the dock running

"You no-good stowaway!" one of the sailors shouts as he runs off.

The faunus uses his tail to hang on a lamppost while he peels back a banana. "Hey! A no-good stowaway would've been caught! I'm a great stowaway!" he replies. Before he eats, one of the detectives from outside the dust store throws a stone at him to get his attention.

"Hey! Get down from there this instant!" the detective shouts up at him.

The faunus drops the banana peel on the detective's face, who growls in return. The monkey-like Faunus twirls up to crouch on the lamppost, laughs in amusement, and proceeds to leap off and run away from the detectives. As he runs past Team RWBY who were watching the scene unfold, he winks at an astonished Blake before he continues to be chased by the officers.

Yang watching the Faunus get farther and farther away. "Well, Weiss, you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes…"

Weiss holds up a finger "Quick! We have to observe him!" Weiss, Yang, and Ruby give chase.

Blake stands still, lost in thought, then comes back to reality and follows her friends. The team rounds the next corner, but then Weiss bumps into someone and falls over. She looks up only to see the faunus jump on to a building and disappear from her view.

"No, he got away!" Weiss says, disappointed.

"Uhh... Weiss?" Yang says before she points strangely at the girl underneath her teammate.

Weiss finally sees that she fell on a smiling girl, which startles the heiress and she hastily gets up.

The girl, still down on the ground, smiles widely at the four of them. "Sal-u-ta-tions!" the girl says in greeting.

"Um…hello." Ruby replies.

"Are you…okay?" Yang asks.

"I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking," the girl replies

the team members look at each other in bewilderment before Yang speaks up again "Do you…wanna get up?"

The girl thinks about this for a moment "Yes!" she leaps back on her feet while the team steps back a little.

"My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Hi Penny. I'm Ruby."

"I'm Weiss."

"Blake."

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Blake elbows her in the side "Oh, I'm Yang." the team members introduce themselves, in order of their team name.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Penny exclaims happily.

"You already said that." Weiss pointed out.

Penny pauses. "So I did!"

"Well, sorry for running into you!" Weiss says before she turns around and starts walking away.

Ruby waves her arm. "Take care, friend!"

When they get far enough away from a startled Penny, Yang speaks up "She was…weird…"

Weiss looks around. "Now, where did that Faunus riff-raff run off to?"

Penny is suddenly standing in front of a surprised Weiss. "What did you call me?"

Yang speaks up as Weiss looks back and forth in shock and Yang looks apologetic. "Oh, I'm really sorry, I definitely didn't think you heard me!"

Penny shakes her head. "No, not you." she walks through the group and leans her head down to look at Ruby. "You!"

Ruby is startled. "Me? I-I don't know. I, what I, um, uh…" she stammers nervously.

"You called me 'friend'! Am I really your friend?" Penny asks softly

"Uuuum…" Ruby trails off as she looks over Penny's shoulder while her teammates motion for her to say no. "Y-Yeah, sure! Why not?"

Ruby's teammates comically faint, but Penny looks overjoyed and laughs. "Sen-sational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!" she exclaims.

Ruby groans as Weiss brushes herself off when she had gotten back up. "Oh, is this what it was like when you met me?" Ruby asks

"No - she seems far more coordinated." the heiress replies.

"So... what are you doing in Vale?" Yang wonders

"I'm here to fight in the tournament." Penny explains.

Weiss pauses. "Wait, you're fighting in the tournament?"

Penny salutes in answer. "I'm combat ready!"

"Forgive me, but you hardly look the part."

"Says the girl wearing a dress." Blake comments

Weiss stands with her arms crossed. "It's a combat skirt!

Ruby speeds over to Weiss' side. "Yeah!" she says as they both high-five.

Realization hits Weiss. "Wait a minute." she walks over to Penny and grabs her by the shoulders. "If you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey-tailed…rapscallion?"

"The who…?" Penny asks, head tilted in confusion.

Weiss holds up a poor drawing of the criminal-in-question "The filthy Faunus from the boat!"

"Why do you keep saying that?!" Blake demanded

Weiss turning her attention from Penny to Blake. "Huh?"

Blake walks over to Weiss, angry. "Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him a degenerate! He's a person!"

Weiss scoffs. "Oh, I'm sorry." releases Penny and motions to objects around her "Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can? Or this lamppost as a lamppost?"

"Stop it!"

"Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time; he'll probably join up with those other Faunus in the White Fang!"

Blake growls, clenching her fist. "You ignorant little brat!"

Weiss looks offended, but when Blake walks away, she follows. "How dare you talk to me like that! I am your teammate!"

"You are a judgmental little girl!" Blake says shortly.

"What in the world makes you say that?" Weiss asks

"The mere fact that you would sort that Faunus boy with a terrorist group solely based on his species makes you just as much of a scoundrel as you believe him to be!"

Yang slides up next to Ruby, looking uncomfortable "Um, I think we should probably go..."

Penny pops up behind Ruby, smiling "Where are we going?"

"So you admit it! The White Fang is just a radical group of terrorists!"

"That's not what I meant, and you know it!"

…

The argument between the two continued throughout the day and team RWBY are now back in their dorm room.

"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!"

"That is the problem!"

Weiss gets up from her bed "You realize you are defending an organization that hates Humanity, don't you? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!"

Blake gets on her feet as well. "There's no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate Humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like you, that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!"

"People like me?" Weiss asks, taken aback.

"You're being discriminatory!" Blake shouts.

"I'm a victim!" Weiss replies. As they stare each other down in silence, Weiss leans in close, leering as she speaks quietly.

"You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the Faunus?" She leans against the bookshelf by the window. "It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War, as in actual bloodshed.

My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear; board members executed; an entire train car full of Dust, stolen. And every day, my father would come home, furious. And that made for a very difficult childhood." she bangs her fist on the bookshelf which prompts Ruby to go over to comfort her.

"Weiss, I-" Ruby began but is cut off by a shout from her partner.

"No!" Weiss turns away from the window and walks back over to Blake

"You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!"

"Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" Blake growls. Silence drops down on the scene again. A surprised Weiss backs away slowly, and Blake realizes her mistake as she looks around at her teammates.

"I… I…" Blake stammers before dashing out the door.

Ruby reaches out for her. "Blake, wait! Come back!" she runs over to the door and calls to her down the hallway as Yang sits herself down and Weiss looks down.

* * *

Blake runs outside and arrives at a statue of an armored man with a sword and a hooded woman wielding an axe on an outcropping, staring at the Beowolf under the stone heroes in particular.

She closes her eyes and slowly lifts her arms up to her bow and pulls the string to release the bow from her hair. She wipes away a tear away as the pulls up to reveal her Faunus ears. On the verge of crying, she becomes startled when she hears a voice above her.

"I knew you would look better without the bow." a voice says

She turns around and looks up.

* * *

The next morning at Beacon, Ruby wakes up from her beauty sleep, yawning in the process. She looks over at Blake's empty bunk, and groans sadly.

* * *

Later on in the day, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang are walking through the empty streets of Vale.

"She's been gone all weekend..." Ruby mutters sadly

Weiss is indignant at the attention Blake was getting, but nevertheless tried to cheer up the rest of the team.

"Blake's a big girl, I'm sure she can handle herself!"

"Weiss, come on. She's one of our teammates!" Yang points out.

"Is she? We all heard what she said!"

"Weiss," Ruby says with an edge to her voice.

"Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. Either way, she's missing, and we need to find her!" Yang exclaims

"A member of the White Fang! Right underneath our noses!"

Ruby groans as Weiss said that. "I just hope she's okay..."

* * *

Elsewhere in Vale, Blake is sipping a cup of tea and sighing. She looks up at the monkey-Faunus from the boat, sitting across from her and Hiccup who was also sitting at their table. The faunus holds his drink with his tail as his hand props his head up. He takes a sip when Blake puts her cup down.

"So, you want to know more about me..." Blake began while she looked at him intently.

"Finally, she speaks! Nearly two days and you gave me nothing but small talk and weird looks!" Blake gives the monkey-Faunus a firm look. "Yeah, like that."

"She's usually quiet you know." Hiccup pointed out, unfazed by the glare he received from Blake as a result.

"That's not true," Blake said defensively.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me to list off the times where you have said more than you need to? I can only think of two occasions. That includes your argument with Weiss by the way," Hiccup paused and waited for her answer. She said nothing and instead gestured for him to continue.

"You read more than you talk. You barely said anything when you rushed into my forge with your friend here and nearly gave Jaune a heart attack," Hiccup pointed at him before continuing. "You told me you had an argument with Weiss and spent the rest of the time reading 'Ninjas of Love'," Hiccup deadpanned.

Blake blushed, both at the reminder of barging into the forge to see Jaune and at the mention of the smut books that she liked to read, before she coughed and looked at the Faunus across from her. Said Faunus had a smirk on his face.

Blake rolled her eyes before closing them and looking at him sadly.

"Sun... Are you familiar with the White Fang?"

"Of course! I don't think there's a Faunus on the planet who hasn't heard of them. Stupid, holier-than-thou creeps that use force to get whatever they want. Bunch of freaks, if you ask me!"

Blake sipped her drink while listening until she speaks up for the big reveal. "I was once a member of the White Fang." Sun promptly goes cross-eyed and chokes on his drink, making him put it down and wipe his mouth as he holds up a hand to process this information. "Wait a minute, you were a member of the White Fang?!" Sun exclaimed in shock before he glanced at Hiccup. "Did you know?"

"Yes. I've known that for a while," Hiccup replied

"Wait, was this argument with Weiss about your involvement with the White Fang?" Hiccup asked.

Blake nodded and Hiccup sighed. "What did she say?"

"She called the White Fang thieves and murderers." Blake replied.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow in question. "Aren't they?"

"That's not the point!" Blake snapped angrily. "She should listen to me before saying stuff like that."

"Maybe she should" Hiccup agreed. "But did you listen to her?" He countered and Blake froze, her anger disappearing.

"I recommend you think about it from her point of view as well, because her view is equally valid." Hiccup said and Blake made a mental note to do just that.

"I'll do that" Blake promised. "Thanks." she said with the barest hint of a smile.

"No problem." Hiccup smirked.

"Alright" He said, waving a hand. "Continue the story."

Blake blinked. "Where was I?"

"You were a member of the White Fang…" Sun said, to jog her memory.

She nodded. "That's right. I was a member for most of my life, actually. You could almost say I was born into it," she said as she began her story.

"Back then, things were different. In the ashes of war, the White Fang was meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between Humans and the Faunus."

"Of course, despite being promised equality, the Faunus were subjected to discrimination and hate. Humanity still thought of us as lesser beings. And so, the White Fang rose up as a voice of our people. And I was there."

"I was at the front of every rally. I took part in every boycott. I actually thought we were making a difference. But I was just a youthful optimist."

"Then, five years ago, our leader stepped down, and a new one took his place. A new leader, with a new way of thinking."

"Suddenly, our peaceful protests were being replaced with organized attacks. We were setting fire to shops that refused to serve us, hijacking cargo from companies that used Faunus labor. And the worst part was, it was working. We were being treated like equals. But not out of respect... out of fear."

Blake puts down her teacup in front of a stunned Sun.

"So, I left. I decided I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence, and instead, I would dedicate my life to becoming a Huntress. So here I am a criminal hiding in plain view, all with the help of a little black bow," she wiggles her cat ears beneath the fashionable disguise to demonstrate.

Sun is still coming to terms with this. "So…have you told your team any of this?"

Blake simply looks down in shame and says nothing.

* * *

"Blaaaake!" Ruby calls out.

Yang also calls out. "Blaaaake!"

Ruby, Yang, and Weiss are walking through town and calling in vain for their missing teammate.

Ruby continues to scream. "Blaaaaaaaake! Where aaaare yoooouuuu!?"

Yang follows suit. "Blake!"

Ruby turns on Weiss "Weiiiiss, you're not helping!"

Weiss scoffs. "Oh! You know what might be able to help? The police!"

Ruby crosses her arms in irritation and slight disappointment at the idea. "Ugh, Weiss…"

Weiss is defensive. "It was just an idea!"

Ruby continues walking down the sidewalk. "Yeah, a bad one."

Yang is following behind Ruby. "Weiss, I think we should hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions."

Weiss follows behind Yang. "I think that when we hear it, you'll all realize I was right!"

Penny follows behind Weiss "And I think Weiss' hair looks wonderful today!"

Ruby turning around suddenly with her team, letting out a shout of surprise. "Aaaah! Penny! Where did you come from!?"

Penny cheerfully ignores the question. "Hey guys! What are you up to?"

"Uhh..." Ruby struggles to think of an answer.

"We're looking for our friend Blake." Yang answers for her.

"Ooooh, you mean the Faunus girl!"

Ruby, Weiss, and Yang stare at Penny.

"Wait, how did you know that?" Ruby asks

"Uhh, the cat ears?" Penny says as she points to her head

Yang laughs a little. "What cat ears? She wears a…bow…"

The realization leaves them in silence as a tumbleweed blows through in the wind.

Ruby whispers. "She does like tuna a lot…"

"So, where is she?" Penny asks.

"We don't know. She's been missing since Friday."

Penny gasps. "That's terrible!" she approaches an uncomfortable Ruby. "Well, don't you worry Ruby, my friend! I won't rest until we find your teammate!"

Ruby is doing her best to continue smiling. "Uh, that's really nice of you, Penny, but we're okay! Really! Right, guys?"

She looks behind Penny to direct her question at Yang and Weiss, but finds herself alone with the company of the strange girl. A tumbleweed blows past them again in the quiet.

"It sure is windy today!" Penny says

* * *

Sun, Blake and Hiccup are now walking down an alley. Sun holds his hands behind his head. "So, what's the plan now?" he asks.

Blake contemplates her answer. "I still don't believe the White Fang is behind these robberies. They've never needed that much Dust before."

Sun widens his eyes. "What if they did?" he wonders as he lowers his arms and paces in front of Blake as he continues his theory.

"I mean…the only way to prove that they didn't do it, is to go to the place where they would most likely go to if they were to do it, and not find them there! Right?"

"The only thing is, I've no idea where that would be," Blake replies

"Well, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about offloading a huge shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas."

"How huge?" Blake asks

"Huge. Big Schnee Company freighter."

"You're sure?" Hiccup asks and receives a nod from sun.

* * *

Yang exits a shop with Weiss, waving to the person inside. "Thanks anyways!" she sighs "This is hopeless." she then looks at Weiss when the white haired girl looks around nonchalantly.

"You really don't care if we find her, do you?" Yang says, an edge to her voice.

"Don't be stupid; of course I do. I'm just afraid of what she'll say when we find her," she walks forward, calling over her shoulder.

"The innocent never run, Yang!"

Yang looks down in thought.

* * *

"So, Blake is your friend?" Penny asks for the millionth time.

Ruby sighs as they make their way down the sidewalk "Yes, Penny." she says, irritated.

"But you're mad at her?" Penny asks

"Yes," Ruby answers before pausing. "Well, I'm not. Weiss is."

"Is she friends with Blake?"

"Well, that's kind of up in the air right now…"

Penny is still trying to contemplate this. "But why?" she asks once more.

Ruby sighs again. "Well, you see, Blake might not be who we thought she was..."

Penny gasps. "Is she a man?"

"No! No, Penny. She's…" stops and sighs, looking at Penny as she talks now. "I don't know what she is. She didn't exactly talk to us before she decided to run off."

"I don't have a lot of friends, but if I did, I would want them to talk to me about things." Penny replies.

Ruby turned her gaze downward sadly "Me too…" the pair then continue walking.

* * *

Amidst the chirping of crickets and darkness of night, Blake lays flat on her stomach on the rooftop overlooking the shipment of Schnee Dust containers.

"Did I miss anything?" Sun asks.

Blake looks up as Sun drops down to her right, while Hiccup silently watched the scene in front of them unfold while on her left.

"Not really. They've offloaded the crates from the boat. Now they're just sitting there."

"Cool." Sun responds, holding out one of the green apples in his arms. "I stole you some food!"

Blake giving Sun a questioning look. "Do you always break the law without giving a second thought?"

Sun defensively counters. "Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?" Blake delivers an angry glare at him. "Okay, too soon!"

Just as he says this, the winds blows all around them, and they look up to see a Bullhead's searchlights flashing around for a landing spot, descending in the middle of the cargo containers and extending a ramp for a black hooded individual with a metallic fanged mask to come out of.

"Oh no…" Blake gasps

"Is that them?"

Blake stared at the symbol of a wolf on the back of the man's outfit.

"Yes… It's them." Blake answers after a few moments, tone filled with despair.

"All right, grab the tow cables!" One of the White Fang members down below ordered, gesturing with the rifle in his arms.

"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?" Sun asks.

Blake stares sadly at the scene. "No. I think deep down I knew. I just didn't want to be right," she closes her eyes in despair, only to open them suddenly when she hears a new voice speak up.

"Hey! What's the holdup!?" the White Fang members look up at Roman gesturing widely and coming down the ramp. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?"

"This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a Human. Especially not one like that." Blake stands up and unsheathes the katana of Gambol Shroud before walking off the edge of the roof.

Hiccup sighed while Sun gave an alarmed shout. "Hey, what are you doing?!" Sun said.

Blake falls to the ground in a crouch, then continues on to hide behind one of the containers, peeking around the corner to see Roman berate a White Fang member holding a coil of rope.

"No, you idiot! This isn't a leash!" as he's looking around, Blake suddenly appears behind him with her blade at his throat. "What the- Oh, for f-" he rolls his eyes when he's cut off by Blake mid-swear.

"Nobody move!" she orders

The White Fang soldiers ready their guns and equip their swords in response.

Hiccup stood up and grabbed his weapons. "She's going to do something rather stupid," Hiccup said to Sun. "Go on lover boy," Hiccup teased.

Sun spluttered in embarrassment, blushing. "How did you know?"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "I didn't. I'm just teasing. Have you really fallen for her already?" Sun nodded and Hiccup smirked at Sun.

"Huh, so that love at first sight nonsense really does happen. I could make a bet with you on how long it will take her to notice, but this isn't the time. Go on," Hiccup said, pointing at the scene.

"I think we should listen to what he says first," Sun said, still blushing.

"Alright, I'll call her team then," Hiccup said, reaching for his scroll.

"Whoa! Take it easy there, little lady," Roman said to Blake.

As the White Fang closed in on her, Blake uses her free hand to go for her bow and remove it, causing the ribbon to fall away as her Faunus ears are shown to the world.

"Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?"

The White Fang members lower their weapons a little at this development, unsure of what to do, when Roman laughs.

"Oh, kid, didn't you get the memo?" he says, still laughing

"What are you talking about?" she demanded

"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together!"

"Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation." Blake hissed.

Suddenly, the air is filled with more turbines blowing the wind wildly around the holdup.

Roman looked up. "I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation…"

Two more Bullheads are hovering above the heist, and as Blake watches in horror, Roman smiles and manages to fire his cane at Blake's feet, resulting in a large explosion.

* * *

Penny and Ruby turn around upon hearing the noise, seeing the smoke rise from the docking bay just a few buildings away.

"Oh, no…" Ruby groans, just as her scroll went off, but she ignored it as the pair ran to the docks

* * *

Blake, dazed but relatively unhurt on the ground, quickly rolls and runs out of the way of Roman's continued attacks, flaming missiles destroying cargo behind her as she retreats behind more containers.

Roman approached slowly ."Here, kitty, kitty, kitty…" his taunt is interrupted when a banana peel lands on his head, causing him to look up and growl at the assailant.

Sun leaps from the container above Roman and drops down on the criminal's face feet-first, rolling up and readying himself to fight.

"Leave her alone!" he shouted at Roman.

The Bullheads open to let more White Fang members descend on the scene, standing by Roman as he gets up and surrounding Sun.

"You're not the brightest banana in the bunch, are you, kid?" Roman taunted.

With that said, the White Fang charge at the monkey Faunus, but he manages to dodge slashes and get some of the soldiers with his fists and kicks until he rolls out of the way, pulling out a collapsible red staff. He quickly uses this to beat down on each opponent that nears him, falling each one in a single flaming blow when he twirls, even creating a scorching shockwave to beat the last of them.

Blake peers around the corner of the container to watch Sun jump around and beat more White Fang soldiers, causing one to fly over Roman's head.

The crime boss growls in annoyance and aims his cane at Sun, firing a shot that he defends himself from just when Blake leaps into the action.

"He's mine!" she shouts

Blake goes in close and becomes a blur of afterimages as she slashes both blades at Roman, who backs away and deflects each would-be blow with his cane at unbelievable speeds. Blake continues to dash, hop over, and slide around Roman to try and find a weak spot, but her enemy, while barely deflecting the attacks, lands a few hits on Blake until one final beating with his cane causes her to go down.

Just as Roman deals with one opponent, Sun appears right behind her and disconnects his staff in two spinning circles of flame-firing shotgun nunchucks.

Sun swings each gun at Roman while firing everything he as at him, but even with the rapid series of shots and flying bullets, Roman manages to defend himself against every bullet and hit until a millisecond-long pause allows Blake to get a slash in and knock him back.

On his back, Roman notices a container hanging by a crane right above the two warriors, and gets up to fire his cane at its supports. Blake leaps behind it, but Sun barely misses when he jumps forward, ending up right below the nozzle of Roman's cane. Just as he's about to fire, his and Sun's attention are drawn to a familiar voice.

"Hey!" Ruby says. Hiccup uses the distraction to shoot at Roman, knocking the cane out of the hands of a surprised Roman

Ruby appears on the rooftop overlooking them, Crescent Rose extended and ready for action.

Roman loses interest in Sun, waving at Ruby instead. "Well, hello, Red! Isn't it past your bedtime?"

Penny approaches Ruby. "Ruby, are these people your friends?"

Ruby looks behind her. "Penny, get back!" while her attention is diverted, Roman lunges for his cane and fires at her, launching the young Huntress-in-training back from the explosion's force and sending her scythe flying away. "AAAAAH!" Ruby shrieks in surprise from the blast.

Roman gives off an evil laugh at his attack on the young girl. Penny turns her head toward the criminal and gives her first glare, walking forward while Ruby tries to get back up.

"Penny, wait! Stop!" Ruby raises her hand in a futile attempt to stop her.

"Don't worry, Ruby. I'm combat ready!" Penny replies.

Her backpack mechanically opens up, and from its dark depths comes a single sword that extends and multiplies into several blades hovering over Penny's back.

Leaping from the rooftop with the weapons acting as wings, she sends three of her swords to knock two White Fang soldiers down before even landing on the ground, where she proceeds to fling the swords at one enemy, impale another to a wall, create a barrier of spinning steel against a running attack, leaping over a goon with her swords in tow, and finally making a wheel that she throws to knock multiple Faunus off their feet.

Sun observes the spectacle in amazement. "Whoa!" he says before then running off to safety.

Three more Bullheads come from the skies and open fire on the battle, but Penny merely forms a shield and launches two of her swords into the wall behind her, which in turn pull their wielder back with their strings. When her swords swirl around her again, she commands them to open their points and build up a large glowing ball of green light. With a punching action, several bright lasers crack the pavement when they fire at the aircraft and slice each one in half, causing several of the White Fang members inside to fall and letting Ruby watch as Bullheads fall in pieces behind her.

Stunned, she turns back to Penny as she aims her swords at the remaining Bullheads holding the crate of Dust and pulls back on their wires, tugging the aircraft with them.

Ruby watches in awe. "Whoa… How is she doing that?" she wonders

Seeing the Bullhead's flight fall under Penny's control, Roman grimaces and turns to run towards the last transport.

Penny, after her large green pupils dilate for a second, pulls with all her might on the strings, and the aircraft crashes into a stack of crates, causing an explosion as a result.

Roman watches from the safety of his escape. "These kids just keep getting weirder…" with his observation made, he uses his cane to close the doors, and the jet lifts off, flying away from the lost battle.

* * *

Later, a handful of police cars are at the docks, where Ruby, Blake, Sun, and Penny are sitting on boxes in silence while Hiccup explains the situation to the officers present at the scene. That is, until Weiss and Yang appear on the scene.

Ruby speaking quickly to explain the situation.

"Look Weiss, it's not what you think, she explained the whole thing. See, she doesn't actually have a bow, she has kitty ears and they're actually kind of cute…" Weiss ignores her and squares off with Blake.

Blake calmly stares her down. "Weiss, I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with the-"

"Stop! Do you have any idea of how long we've been searching for you?" she pauses and Blake remains silent. "Twelve hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this. And in that twelve hours, I've decided…"

Yang, Sun, and Ruby look on, worried.

"I don't care."

Blake is surprised by her answer. "You don't care?"

"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?"

"No, I-I haven't been since I was younger-"

"Ah-bah-bah-bah-bah! I don't want to hear it. All I want to know is that the next time something this big comes up… you'll come to your teammates. And not some…" looks at Sun behind her as she catches herself. "Someone else."

Blake looks at Ruby and Yang grinning at her, she wipes a tear from her eye, nodding "Of course."

Weiss smiles and nods. The moment is serious for a second more until Ruby screams. She waves her arms wildly. "Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!"

As the five gather with each other, she points accusingly at Sun "I'm still not quite sure about how I feel about you!" Sun laughs nervously in response.

Ruby looks around. "Hey, wait a minute…Where's Penny?"

From the darkened back seat of a limo, Penny watches the group of friends reuniting with each other.

"You should know better than to go running around in a strange city." The driver of the limo says.

Penny lowers her head, sadly "I know, sir."

As the car drives off from the scene, the driver of the limo speaks up again. "Penny, your time will come…"

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Beacon. Ozpin is seen holding a Scroll showing a "LIVE FEED" of Ruby at the docks. He closes the video and opens up a communication with Qrow, whose team name and other information is left blank and his only message is "QUEEN HAS PAWNS."

"Hmmm…" Ozpin mutters in thought

* * *

Later on, Roman walks into a large warehouse with a shadowy interior. He goes over to a table and places down a case of mysterious contents, sighing in tiredness.

"How very disappointing, Roman," A voice says.

Roman turns around suddenly when he hears the voice and sees a woman with black hair and glowing yellow eyes, flanked by two companions.

"Whoa! Hehe... I wasn't expecting to see you guys so soon..." Roman chuckles nervously.

"We were expecting... more from you," The woman continues.

Roman laughs a little more before getting serious. "Hey! You were the ones who suggested working with those stupid mutts from the White Fang."

"And you will continue to do so," the woman summons a fireball in her hand and steps closer to Roman with her two companions, a silver-haired man and mint-haired, tanned woman.

"We have big plans for you, Roman. All we ask is...a little cooperation." the woman says, an evil smile present on her face.

"Wait, why did the heist fail" a voice asked, as the owner of the voice - Adam Taurus - stepped forward. "Did you screw something up Roman? Humans are exactly as stupid as I remember." He sneered.

"Adam," the woman's voice rang out, filled with authority. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here to ask why he is still working for us. He has failed twice now, and you told me he had never failed before when we hired him."

"He makes a good point." The woman admitted, much to Roman's chagrin. "Tell us why Roman." The woman ordered.

"The same kid from before showed up. The one who stopped the dust robbery before that Huntress with the purple cloak showed up. There was also a cat-eared faunus girl-" Adam's interest was piqued when he heard that "and a boy with a monkey tail-"

"Wait, wait, wait. The girl with cat ears, did she have black hair?" Adam pressed, desperate to find out.

"Yes, why?-" Roman began but was cut off again.

"Doesn't matter why. I've got to go." Adam said before walking away, ignoring the fact that everyone was looking at him now. He had a certain cat eared girl to find, and he knew just where to look.

Once outside, Adam took out his scroll and dialled a number. "Head for Beacon." Adam said without greeting the person over the line first. "Blake Belladonna will be there. Find her and bring her to me." He then hung up.

Adam started to walk away. He wanted to kick himself for not thinking of the idea sooner. He had sent people to search throughout Vale, thinking she would be hiding somewhere other than Beacon due to her past as a former White Fang member.

Instead she had hid where Adam would be least likely to look - among humans.

Because despite the fact that Beacon accepted Faunus, they still had more human students, this made it the perfect hiding place. Now however, the tables had turned.

* * *

A/N: Now, just need to tie up some plot points next chapter before moving onto Volume 2 events.


	11. Plan B

A New World

Chapter 11: Plan B

A/N: Non-Canon events here! I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Jaune grunted as he swung his sword at Hiccup, who leapt clear of the strike. He swung again and Hiccup again avoided the blow.

"Come on Jaune! Move around! You have legs," Hiccup instructed the blond haired teen.

"But you're faster than me. I can't keep up."

"You won't ever be able to keep up with me if you never try. It took me quite a while to become this fast you know," Hiccup replied. "Come on!"

With a yell of frustration, Jaune charged at Hiccup who again avoided the strike, which only annoyed Jaune further.

"Ok, we will take a break," Hiccup said as he noticed that Jaune was quite angry.

"Water?" Hiccup asked, holding out a bottle to Jaune. Jaune took the offered water and drank half of it in a large gulp.

"Pyrrha," Jaune said suddenly and Hiccup turned, seeing the redhead standing outside and watching through the blacksmith window at the front of the building.

"Hi Jaune," Pyrrha said, smiling.

"How long have you been watching this?" Hiccup wondered.

"A few minutes. I saw how easily you avoided Jaune's sword strokes Hiccup. I haven't seen many people move as quickly as that, even in tournament fights, believe it or not," Pyrrha said. "Who taught you to fight?" she wondered, curious to find out.

"Ozpin," Hiccup said and the jaws of both of the former teammates dropped as they both looked at him in disbelief.

"What?" Hiccup asked, noticing the looks he was receiving.

"Hiccup, you know he is one of the strongest fighters in Remnant right? How did you get taught by him?" Pyrrha asked once she had picked her jaw off of the floor.

"Eh, I can tell you Pyrrha, but you probably won't believe the reason why. Are you sure you want to know?" Hiccup asked, looking at Pyrrha as he said this.

She nodded eagerly and Hiccup sighed. "Alright, well I need you to promise you won't tell anyone outside of this room what I'm about to show you and you put your weapon down and promise not to use it when I show you. Agreed?" Hiccup said, face completely serious.

"Agreed," Pyrrha said, slightly confused at why he asked her to promise that.

Hiccup nodded and made his way to a room in the back of the forge, that had now become Jaune/Toothless' bedroom and brought out Toothless. Once Pyrrha's eyes laid on the dragon, she predictably screamed and scrambled for her weapon, resulting in Hiccup having to forcibly disarm her before she harmed his best friend.

After being disarmed and calming down somewhat, Pyrrha looked up at Hiccup, who was standing nearby. "You have a dragon!" She stated, still sounding nervous. "Why do you have a dragon?" Pyrrha asked and looked at Jaune. "And why aren't you freaking out about this?!" she demanded, gradually becoming hysterical.

"Because I already did and it wasn't pleasant. You're about to freak out soon too you know," Jaune replied but Pyrrha didn't pay attention to his words, prompting Hiccup to knock her out with a blow to the temple. He laid her on her back gently and looked at Jaune apologetically.

"Sorry about that, Jaune. She wasn't in the right state of mind." Hiccup said and winced at the glare he received.

Jaune then closed his eyes and calmed down before looking at Hiccup. "I didn't like that but it worked so it's fine I guess. Still, you could have hugged her or something." Jaune said.

Hiccup scratched his neck nervously. "I didn't think of that," he muttered then glanced at Pyrrha. "Help me carry her to your room. I think she should get some rest on a bed instead of the floor," Hiccup said and Jaune nodded before they both lifted her up and placed her in the room at the back of the forge.

"Want to continue training?" Hiccup asked as Jaune picked up his sword.

"Yes," Jaune replied before smirking slightly. "I want to get you back for knocking Pyrrha out."

"Well in that case," Hiccup picked up a brand new shield. "See if you can land a blow on this shield. If it helps, picture this as Cardin. I'll also bet 20 lien that you can't hit this shield within the next hour."

"You're on!" Jaune grinned and it was much to Hiccup's chagrin that Jaune managed to land a blow forty minutes later.

* * *

Pyrrha awoke a few hours later with a throbbing headache. She sat up and noticed that she wasn't back at Beacon. She tried to remember what had happened and slowly her memories came back to her.

She remembered coming to the forge to see Jaune and heard a fight taking place between Hiccup and her former team leader. She had watched the fight for a few minutes before she went in. She then remembered talking to Hiccup before seeing a black dragon.

Pyrrha froze in fear when her gaze swept the room and she saw the dragon in question sleeping in the corner of the room. After a few minutes of staring at the dragon, she mustered her courage and climbed out of the bed, approaching the dragon.

She hesitantly reached out and touched it, then drew back when the dragon unfurled its wings and looked at her, growling slightly.

"He doesn't like to be touched by strangers," A familiar voice said and she looked up to see Hiccup standing in the doorway of the room.

"Really?" she asked before she could stop herself.

"Really. He was like that when I first met. He will get used to you eventually though."

"Where are you from Hiccup?" Pyrrha asked suddenly.

"That's a long story but I'll try and shorten it. As you might have guessed, I'm not from Remnant but a place called Berk. Berk is an island that has been at war with dragons for three hundred years. I was the first one not to kill dragons and instead train one. When I eventually left, we ended up on an island where we found a portal that led us to Remnant. The first person I met was Ruby and Yang's Uncle, Qrow Branwen." He lied, deciding to omit the fact he had met Raven first. "He brought Toothless and I to Yang and Ruby's home after I was injured from meeting an Ursa." Hiccup made to continue but was interrupted when Pyrrha started laughing.

"The dragon's name is Toothless?" she asked when she had stopped giggling. "Yes. Show her bud," Hiccup said and Toothless retracted his teeth.

"He did that when I gave him fish to eat," Hiccup muttered before continuing. "So I met Yang and Ruby and their father, Taiyang before Qrow brought me to see Ozpin the next day. Ozpin offered to train me to fight and I lived in a small room at Beacon until I got my forge. Although I still use that room and it is now my office as well as my bedroom." Hiccup said, finishing the story.

"How long ago was that?" Pyrrha asked.

"That was two years ago."

"Why did you decide to own a forge, and who made your weapons?"

"I was a blacksmith back home so I guess I've always liked blacksmithing more than most people, and I made them myself. I've been making weapons for a few years so I decided to make them by myself."

"Why did you decide to use axes as part of your weapons?"

"Because it reminds me of home a bit. There aren't any guns back home. Just hammers, axes and swords. So I decided to make weapons that are both old and new."

"Who else knows about the dragon?" Pyrrha then asked

"Yang, Ruby, Blake, Jaune and now you." Hiccup replied. "Any more questions?"

"Just one. Where's Jaune?"

Hiccup simply pointed at the bed that Pyrrha had been sleeping on earlier and she became as red as her hair.

Hiccup noticed her blush and decided to tease her more. "I noticed you were cuddling him in your sleep." Hiccup said and smirked when her blush deepened.

"That's true you know," Jaune said, sitting up and revealing that he was awake and had been listening to their conversation. "You were holding me quite tightly as well. I didn't have the heart to move your arms though."

"Sorry!" Pyrrha apologised profusely, face even redder if that were possible.

"It's fine. I'm used to that sort of thing. I have seven sisters, and three of them are younger than me."

Pyrrha's jaw dropped and Hiccup decided to excuse himself. "I have some errands to run so I'll be back later. Have fun you too." Hiccup smirked before he left.

Hiccup opened the door to the forge and stepped outside, bumping into someone in the process. He looked down and saw a boy - the same boy had been looking for food in the bins outside his forge weeks prior - looking up at Hiccup with fear-filled eyes.

The boy stood up and was going to run away again when Hiccup spoke up.

"Are you hungry?" Hiccup asked and the boy nodded hesitantly.

"I can get you food as long as you don't go looking for food in those bins. The stuff in there isn't good for you. Deal?" Hiccup asked, holding out a hand.

The boy nodded and grasped Hiccup's hand, now more confident and less afraid of Him.

Hiccup helped the boy to his feet.

"Follow me," Hiccup said and began to walk away with the boy following but with some distance between them, in case he decided to run away again.

Hiccup lead the boy to a noodle stand, where an old man who was almost completely bald and had grey eyebrows, wearing a shopkeeper's apron was busy cleaning some bowls.

The old man looked up as Hiccup approached and sat down on one of the stools that were placed in front of the stand. The boy climbed onto a stool next to Hiccup.

The shopkeeper placed menus in front of Hiccup and the boy.

"So what would you like?" Hiccup asked the boy who pointed at an option on the menu. Hiccup nodded and told the shopkeeper their orders.

As the shopkeeper prepared their meals, Hiccup looked at the boy. "Where are you from?"

"An orphanage." The boy said, speaking up for the first time. "I don't like it there."

"Why not?" Hiccup asked but the boy didn't say anything else. The two finished their meals and Hiccup left the shopkeeper lien to pay for the noodles before he left.

"Do you get beaten up a lot?" Hiccup asked and the boy looked at him in suspicion and fear, before he flinched as if expecting to get hit. "How did you know that?" the boy asked

"I used to get beaten up by my cousin. Trust me, I know how to find out that sort of thing."

The boy opened a portal, before grabbing Hiccup's sleeve and dragging him through the portal.

They ended up standing outside an orphanage building that looked to be around 30 years old and in the middle of nowhere. It was made of red bricks and had a large field in front of it.

Suddenly, Hiccup heard a deep voice shout and the boy flinched when he heard it, which didn't go unnoticed by Hiccup.

"Boy! You had chores to do, but instead, you ran away!"

Hiccup saw a large man march towards the boy and the boy shied away, clearly afraid of the man.

The man then laid his eyes on Hiccup and snarled at the boy. "You brought some idiot here too! You're in even more trouble now." The man then raised his hand to slap the boy but Hiccup stepped forward and the man paused.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Hiccup said, his tone dangerous but the man sneered at him.

"Who do you think you are to tell me what to do?" the man said condescendingly.

"I'm a huntsman trained by Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon. Now unless you want to fight me, don't hit him," Hiccup warned and smirked as the man's eyes widened comically at the mention of Ozpin's name and he took a step back.

"I'll just be going then," the man said before he shot a glare at the boy that promised retribution later.

"Wait. What is the address of the orphanage over there?" Hiccup asked. The man was confused and wondered why he wanted to know that but he told him anyway.

Hiccup then turned to the boy. "Can you make a portal that leads back to my forge in Vale?" the boy nodded and a portal appeared a few seconds later.

* * *

Hiccup returned to his forge and stepped inside. He went to check on Jaune and Pyrrha and was greeted by the sight of them kissing when he opened the door. He coughed purposefully and they separated immediately, both blushing at being noticed.

"This is an interesting sight," Hiccup teased and they both refused to meet his gaze.

"H-Hiccup," Pyrrha stammered, embarrassed. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Just a few seconds, don't worry. Now, who made a move first?"

"W-why do you want to know that?" Jaune asked

"Oh, because the staff at Beacon made a bet on who would kiss first. Ozpin, Glynda, Port, Oobleck and I voted Pyrrha would do it first, while Professor Peach voted for Jaune."

"You voted on which of us would kiss first?!" Pyrrha shrieked.

"Of course. Did you really think I was teasing you for the sake of teasing? I was trying to get you to make a move. So who was it?"

"Pyrrha," Jaune said, face still as red as Pyrrha's hair.

"Alright," Hiccup took out his scroll and sent a message to Ozpin.

"I won fifty lien," Hiccup smirked. "Thanks, Pyrrha. I still have some errands to run so you may continue." Hiccup said teasingly over his shoulder as he left the room.

* * *

Next, Hiccup went to Junior's Nightclub.

"Any new information for me Junior?" Hiccup asked, sitting on a stool in front of the bar.

"Well, there is a rumour that Roman and the White Fang are working together," Junior then noticed Hiccup's unimpressed look. "But I'm guessing you already know that."

"I was at the docks when the White Fang and Roman showed up," Hiccup stated dryly. "So yes, I do know."

"Anything else?" Hiccup asked.

"Nothing so far, unfortunately," Junior grumbled. "Besides the fact that the White Fang are looking for someone called Belladonna." Hiccup perked up when he heard that.

"Who is looking for her?" Hiccup demanded.

"Adam Taurus. Why?"

"I might know this person," Hiccup said simply, placing some lien on the bar. "Thanks for the info, Junior," Hiccup said, already reaching for his scroll as he made his way to the exit while ignoring Junior's bewildered expression.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Beacon, Blake was going to the library to return some books. She entered the library to find it empty besides the librarian and Ren, who was reading some books alone without Nora. She thought that odd as they never usually separated but made a note to ask him about it later.

She approached the librarian's desk and handed the books to the librarian. She was about to leave when she saw a White Fang member wearing a Grim mask looking at her out of the corner of her eye.

Curious, but alert she turned to investigate - as she had recognised the mask as one a White Fang member would wear - and approached the spot where the White Fang member had been standing - next to the book stands - mere moments ago.

The spot was now empty however and she was about to leave when she felt strong arms close around her neck in a vice-like grip and she was dragged between the book stands, out of view of the librarian and Ren.

She lashed out but failed to make the White Fang member let go. She continued to struggle in the White Fang member's grasp but failed to make the person let go before she blacked out.

Or she would have, if she hadn't activated her semblance at the last moment and escaped from the person's grasp, appearing behind him.

She took several large breaths before directing a kick at the White Fang member's head as the person turned around, knocking him out.

However another White Fang member appeared, hands raised in a placating manner. "I don't want to hurt you, Blake," The member said with a feminine voice, revealing that she was female. "Adam Taurus wants to see you. There is no need to fight."

"I'm done with the White Fang!" Blake said. "I can't stand by while they attack innocent people."

"Traitor," The Faunus girl snarled, her hands now reaching for her weapon. "The Humans were never innocent. You're a traitor to the Faunus."

"If refusing to harm people who aren't against Faunus makes me a traitor, then so be it," Blake replied confidently.

Blake then turned and walked away, and the angry Faunus lept at her but met only air as Blake's form disappeared and she appeared behind her, as with the Faunus from before.

"You'd think you would be expecting me to do the same move and perhaps have prepared for it. Or better yet, Adam would have told you about it," Blake said before she punched the Faunus -her fist snapping her head forward and her head hitting the ground.

She kicked the girl to knock her out and turned around quickly as she heard the sound of footsteps approach.

Luckily it was the librarian, who had heard the Faunus girl hit the ground and came over to investigate.

The older woman took in the sight of the two White Fang members with a shock-filled expression before her eyes gazed at Blake, demanding an explanation. The cat-eared Faunus sighed. "It's a long story."

* * *

Hiccup burst into his forge and made a beeline where Jaune and Pyrrha were. He knocked on the door. "Can I come in?" Hiccup asked and heard hurried footsteps rush around the room.

"Just a minute!" Pyrrha called out and Hiccup waited patiently until the door opened. Pyrrha's hair was a mess with her gold circlet missing and her clothing slightly misaligned, implying it was put on in a hurry.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "What happened to you? I hope you didn't do what I think you did."

Pyrrha blushed heavily and Hiccup chuckled. "Anyway. I need Toothless and you should go back to Beacon instead of doing that. Excuse me," Hiccup said and she stepped aside, letting him go past.

"Come on Bud," Hiccup said and Toothless bounded over to him, looking eager to fly.

"Do you need a ride back to Beacon Pyrrha? Or do you want to make your own way there?"

Pyrrha opted to go with Hiccup and proceeded to make herself more presentable so he turned to Jaune. "I expect you to clean that bed whenever you decide to do that in the future Jaune."

"Of course," Jaune agreed, blushing and Hiccup nodded before turning back to Pyrrha. "Let's go."

* * *

They arrived back at Beacon and were greeted by Ozpin and Glynda, both looking serious.

"I'll keep this brief," Glynda said. "Pyrrha, you should go to your team. I'm not sure I want to know where you've been all day," she said as she took in the sight of Pyrrha's still untidy and windswept hair, although she was wearing her gold circlet again and her clothing was straightened out.

The redhead blushed as red as her hair as memories came back to her but she complied and left quickly.

"Blake was attacked earlier in the library as well you know. Adam Taurus was looking for her," Ozpin said

Hiccup sighed. "Yeah. Junior told me. I was on my way here to tell you that. I didn't think he would act so soon though," He paused before speaking again. "How is team RWBY taking this?"

"They're understandably angry. We had to hold them back from attacking Blake's assailants. Maybe you could get information out of them," Ozpin answered.

Hiccup glanced at Toothless. "I have an idea."

* * *

"Put me down Human scum!" The male Faunus who had tried to strangle Blake shouted as Hiccup, with his mask on, flew on Toothless' back. It was now Night at this point and the Faunus was being held in the dragons grasp, with the city of Vale far below.

"Poor choice of words," Hiccup said. "But if you insist." Hiccup instructed Toothless to drop the Faunus. Toothless opened his claws, letting go of the White Fang member and the Faunus' insults turned to terrified screams as he fell.

Toothless caught him after he fell for a few seconds and levelled out before climbing to a higher altitude. "Tell me Adam's scroll number and where he is," Hiccup said.

"Never!" The Faunus growled.

"Really?" Hiccup looked at the Faunus and saw him nod. "Ok. I can do this all day. Toothless, drop."

The Faunus began falling again, screaming once more. This time, Hiccup waited longer before telling Toothless to catch him.

"I'm sure you've figured out how this works by now. You don't tell me and Toothless here drops you. I then wait longer and longer until I tell him to catch you. I know you're smart enough to figure out what could happen."

"Why not ask the one you captured after the protest?" The Faunus asked. "He could tell you."

"True. But I want to be sure. A friend of mine was attacked today and on my watch. I'm not letting that happen again," Hiccup replied. "Going to tell me?"

The Faunus shook his head before he began screaming once he was dropped once more.

"What have you got to lose? What are you protecting?" Hiccup asked when the Faunus was caught again. "I have a city to protect. What do you have?"

"My dignity," the Faunus growled.

"Really? Not exactly very dignified right now," Hiccup said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Ready to tell me?" Hiccup asked but received no answer from the Faunus so he dropped him again.

This time, however, Toothless dived and Hiccup didn't tell the dragon to catch the Faunus.

"What are you waiting for?! Catch me!"

Hiccup started laughing. "You actually -you actually think I owe you anything?" He said between chuckles

Hiccup's gaze then hardened. "You tried to bring a friend of mine to a psychopath with an obsession with her. I owe you nothing!" Hiccup spat. "The ground is coming up fast. Tell me or you die."

The Faunus was silent for a few moments before his resolve broke. "Alright, I'll tell you anything!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "Just don't let me die!"

Hiccup finally instructed Toothless to grab him and the dragon pulled up mere moments before the Faunus would have hit the ground.

"Now where is he?" Hiccup asked, once back at Beacon. The Faunus told him the address and Adam's scroll number.

"Who is this?" Adam said gruffly.

"A person you don't want to annoy Adam. Your plan to kidnap Blake failed. Now since your plan failed I wish to negotiate."

"I don't work with humans," Adam sneered

"Really? What about Roman Torchwick?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on Adam, do you really think I'm that stupid? We both know the White Fang and Roman are working together. But regardless that isn't why I'm calling."

Adam didn't say anything so Hiccup continued

"I want you to leave Blake alone. No looking for her. No attempts to kidnap her, and in return I will give you all three of the White Fang members that were captured, including the one who was captured at that protest."

"No deal," Adam said simply and hung up.

Hiccup took off his mask and glanced at the Faunus that had told him Adam's scroll number.

"Seems you're unwanted. Time for plan B, I guess." Hiccup said.

The Faunus found himself curious to find out. "What is plan b?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out," Hiccup said, walking away.

* * *

A/N: The next chapter will feature the mysterious plan b as well as a summary of the important stuff that has happened up until then before we move on. Should be useful for any new readers to catch up. Don't forget to review and I will see you all soon.

Silvolde


	12. Hiccup's Final Secret

A New World

Chapter 12: Hiccup's final secret.

A/N: I just noticed that I never explained how Hiccup and the boy who stays at the orphanage first met, despite thinking I did. So I will be solving that by including my first Omake in this story, in true anime fashion, at the end of the chapter.

*Applause*

Anyway, here you go!

* * *

At noon the following day, Hiccup entered the Vale police headquarters. He brought the two Faunus' that had attacked Blake the day before along with him.

"Can I help you, sir?" Amy, the receptionist asked Hiccup after she had finished talking to a police officer who was standing nearby.

"Yes. I want these two," Hiccup gestured at the two White Fang members that he had brought, "to be put in a cell. They broke into Beacon and attacked one of the students. I'd also like to speak to the chief."

"Oh, I'm sorry but the chief is busy dealing with a blond huntress," Amy replied. "But I can put them in a cell."

She turned to the police officer that she had been talking to before Hiccup arrived. The officer nodded and lead the pair of Faunus away.

"A blond huntress?" Hiccup repeated, "Does she happen to have shotgun gauntlets?" Hiccup asked, thinking of Yang.

Amy shook her head. "No. The chief called a few minutes ago and said she had an axe."

"An axe?" Hiccup muttered to himself. His eyes then widened as the realisation came to him.

"Alright, I have an idea who it could be. Where is the chief?" Hiccup asked.

Amy told him and Hiccup ran out the door.

* * *

Hiccup burst into his forge, startling Jaune in the process.

"Can people stop doing that?!" Jaune demanded, "First your dragon, then Blake and her friend and now you."

"Can't exactly help it, can I Jaune? You're too easily startled."

Jaune opened his mouth to protest but Hiccup cut him off.

"Anyway, I need that shield." Hiccup said, putting on his mask before reaching for it and placing it on his back.

"What for? And why do you need that mask?"

"If I'm right, an old friend of mine from back home has found herself in Vale and she'll likely be angry and confused, so it would be best if she doesn't know who I am for now," Hiccup responded.

"Why?"

Hiccup blinked. "Didn't I tell you and Pyrrha that my home doesn't have guns yesterday?" Jaune nodded in confirmation.

"That's not the only thing they don't have Jaune. There are no bullheads, shops, hospitals, schools or police stations there, to name just a few. We certainly don't have the same old man working in every shop in Vale" Hiccup explained before they both laughed at the latter point.

"I also left home somewhat abruptly and she made me promise to come to visit her again someday. That was 2 years ago so she would be mad if she found out that I haven't exactly been trying to go see her again."

"I'm sure it won't be that bad," Jaune commented.

"It is. Imagine someone like Weiss armed with an axe, and has been training to use the axe for years." Hiccup replied

Jaune paled at the thought and Hiccup nodded. "That's why I need the shield."

"Why not just use your aura?" Jaune wondered.

"She would try harder to beat me if I tried that and she would become even angrier. Not exactly something I want right now." Hiccup replied.

"Alright. Wish me luck." Jaune nodded and Hiccup left.

* * *

20 minutes earlier…

Astrid's eyes fluttered open slowly and she was met with the sight of a cloudless blue sky. Her first thought was where Stormfly was, as the dragon would usually wake Astrid up by nibbling her hair, undoing her braid in the process. She then noticed that she couldn't hear the sound of any dragon, not even Grump - Gobber's dragon - who would usually be snoring loudly.

She stood up and looked around. The place Astrid found herself in had a black path with buildings on either side. The dragon rider wondered why the path was like that, it was like nothing she had seen before.

Astrid then noticed an old man walking into a building and decided to approach him to find out where she was.

She entered the building and tapped the man on the shoulder, making him jump and turn around.

She winced. "Sorry about that. Can you tell me where I am?"

The old man nodded. "You're in Vale. Are you new here?" He wondered

"I guess you could say that. I've never seen a place like this." Astrid admitted

"Okay, did you have a rough night?" he was greeted by a confused look from the dragon rider. "Did you have too much to drink?"

"No…" Astrid replied carefully, still confused

"Are you a huntress?"

Astrid tensed. "What is a huntress?"

"A huntress or a huntsman is someone who hunts monsters"

"Would they hunt dragons?" She wondered aloud and the old man paused. "I guess." He answered. "Although I haven't seen dragons that weren't in a book"

In response, Astrid held the blade of her axe against the man's neck, making him gulp in fear.

"I'm not a huntress. I want to deal with these huntsmen. Where can I find them?" She demanded.

"A-at Beacon" he stuttered. "It's where they train them."

"Where is that?" She asked. "Show me on a map" She ordered the old man. The old man nodded vigorously and took a step back before going below the counter and disappearing from view.

He searched for a map and placed it on the counter before pointing at a location.

"B-beacon is here." The old man said, nervously eyeing the axe that Astrid held in her hands.

Astrid took the map and left without saying anything else. As soon as she was out of view, the old man called the police.

* * *

Hiccup called Anderson as he walked through Vale.

"I heard you were having trouble with a blond huntress. I think I know who she is."

"That's great. How soon can you get here?"

"Depends. Where are you?" The chief of the VPD told him and Hiccup looked around. "That's not too far away. Convenient. I should be there in a few minutes." Hiccup said before ending the call and putting his mask on before he started running.

When Hiccup arrived, he saw Astrid in a tense standoff with the four police officers present, not including the chief, who all had their guns drawn and were visibly nervous.

Hiccup rushed over to the chief. "Tell your people not to shoot. She isn't using her aura and I would bet she doesn't know how to, so if you shoot at her, she could die."

"How do you know that?" Nils asked.

"It's a long story. But all you need to know is that she is a friend from back home. I know how to calm her down."

Nils eyed him carefully before nodding and holding up a small radio

"Alright, everyone stand down for now. We have a huntsman who might know how to calm her down. Nobody shoot unless I say so." Nils ordered and Hiccup began walking forward slowly.

He brushed past the police officers and approached Astrid, who tensed further as she watched him walk towards her.

Hiccup raised his hands in a placating manner.

"You can trust me. I'm a huntsman." Hiccup said

This was the wrong thing to say as she swung her axe at him as soon as he heard the word 'Huntsman'. He held up the shield that he had brought, preventing Astrid's axe from reaching him.

"Calm down!" Hiccup snapped

"Why should I? You hunt dragons!" Astrid growled as she prepared to swing at Hiccup again.

"No, we don't." Hiccup said calmly and she froze mid-swing. "Who told you that?" Hiccup wondered.

"An old man told me that you hunt dragons." Hiccup shook his head and took out his scroll. "I can prove that we don't." Hiccup showed Astrid some pictures of Toothless that he had taken in the past.

Astrid recognized the dragon almost immediately. "That's Toothless." she looked at him, enraged. "What did you do to him?" she demanded.

"Nothing." Hiccup replied. He realized he wasn't getting anywhere so he took off his mask, allowing Astrid to see his face. "He is safe Astrid."

She gasped. "H-Hiccup?" She asked, not sure if he was really there or not. "Is that you?"

"Alive and well Milady." Hiccup grinned. Astrid smiled slightly and he thought he was getting somewhere. At least until he was greeted by Astrid's tight fist that collided with his forehead.

Hiccup's aura absorbed most of the blow but his head still snapped back from the hit and he winced in pain.

"What was that for?"

"That was for disappearing for two years," Astrid growled. She then grabbed him by the collar and pecked him on the cheek. "And that was for… seeing you again."

'I'll never understand women.' Hiccup thought to himself.

He then turned around and gave the Nils Anderson a 'thumbs-up', signalling to the chief that Astrid had calmed down.

"Alright. Follow me." Hiccup said

"Why?"

"I'm going to explain some stuff about Vale. I think you want to know more about where you are right now right?"

Astrid nodded in reply. "Great. Come on then." Hiccup said, walking away while ignoring the knowing smile on Nils Anderson's face and she ran to catch up with him.

* * *

By the time Hiccup had explained everything to her back at the police station, Astrid's head was spinning.

She remained silent as she tried to sort out her thoughts. She struggled to do so, so she looked up at him in question.

"So you own a forge."

"Yup"

"You work in a school."

"Yup"

"You know how to fight."

"Yes. Anything else?" Hiccup replied, becoming slightly irritated by the questions.

"Sorry, this is just overwhelming Hiccup."

"I guess, and I would usually be fine with that, but I have told a few people stuff about me and it's becoming annoying now. Anyway, I need to talk to someone about something so can I leave you to think?" Astrid nodded absently, deep in thought so Hiccup left the interrogation room.

Nils Anderson was standing just outside the door and had overheard the pair talking. He quickly started pretending not to be listening to Hiccup and Astrid's conversation when Hiccup opened the door.

"I know you heard us talking Nils' but that doesn't really matter. Adam sent some people to attack and capture a student at Beacon yesterday. She managed to fight them off, but I want to ensure that it doesn't happen again." Hiccup explained quickly. "How soon can we pay Adam a visit?"

"I can't perform raids without the council's permission," Nils stated. "If I could, the White Fang's members would probably be behind bars already."

"Why does anyone think that is a good idea? Who made the rule anyway?"

"Henry Winchester" Nils responded

"Oh great." Hiccup sighed. "And they agree with him?"

"Yes. It's one of the few things the council do agree with, but the citizens of Vale don't know about that. If they did, he would almost certainly be voted out."

"Ok." Hiccup paused as a thought came to him. "You don't need to ask for permission if they don't know about a raid right?" Hiccup smirked.

Nils grinned. "I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Hiccup, Blake and a team of four armed police officers were sitting in the back of an armoured van.

They were being followed by another armoured van, bringing the three faunus that Hiccup had captured, two of which had attacked Blake the day before. Nils had wondered why Hiccup needed them and Hiccup simply replied they were a part of Plan B.

They were heading to the location that Hiccup had got after interrogating the White Fang member the day before.

Hiccup looked over at Blake, who was sitting across from him.

"Are you sure you're okay with this Blake?" Hiccup asked

The cat Faunus rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Hiccup. I am. Now stop worrying, I want to stop Adam. That's why I agreed to come after all."

"Well if you get hurt, don't blame me."

They both became silent and didn't say anything else for the rest of the journey.

They arrived at a warehouse and everyone climbed out of the van.

Hiccup walked over to the other van as the officers got out, leading the faunus out, each in handcuffs. "Make sure they don't escape. They are an important part of my plan." The officers nodded and turned to watch the prisoners.

Hiccup then looked at the warehouse and then at Blake. "How many people do you think are in there?"

"Hard to tell. Might want to call for backup." Blake advised.

"Is there a way to get in there without being seen or heard?" Hiccup wondered. "I might be able to see how many people there are if you can get me inside without being heard. Can you do that?" Hiccup asked.

"I wouldn't bet on it. But how will you do that without being seen?"

"To answer that, I need to know one thing: How would you react to seeing a mouse?"

"That's a strange question. Why do you need to know that?"

Hiccup sighed and grasped Blake's hand. He then dragged her to the side of the armoured van, out of view of the police officers.

"I have a certain… embarrassing ability. If I show it to you, will you promise not to laugh?"

"I promise…?" Blake said with uncertainty. The next moment, Hiccup had disappeared and there was a mouse in her hand.

Blake couldn't help it, despite promising not to, she burst out laughing. She continued to laugh even when Hiccup transformed back into a human and fixed her with a glare.

"I-I'm sorry, that was just too good," Blake said trying to calm down and wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

"Glad to be a source of amusement." Hiccup said irritated as he rolled his eyes

"I'm sorry-" Blake began but was cut off.

"Remind me never to tell you secrets like that again. Now shut up and get me inside without being heard." He snapped, his tone angry. He was also unaware that his hands sparked with electricity for a brief moment.

Blake noticed this but said nothing as she went over to the large door to the warehouse.

She knelt down and tried the door, lifting up the warehouse door slowly in an effort to make no noise and only high enough that Hiccup could go through in his mouse form.

"In you go mouse-cup." Blake teased as the team of police officers stood waiting, standing on either side of the warehouse door.

"Don't ever call me that again." Hiccup said although he had the barest hint of a smile, as he had calmed down by this point.

He then turned into a mouse again and went through the door.

Minutes later, he crawled through the door again and transformed back into a human, to be met with the surprised gazes of the police officers standing nearby.

"Not a word. Got it?" Hiccup said and they each nodded in agreement.

"There are quite a few of them in there so if you lot have silencers, I recommend you use them." Hiccup advised.

Once everyone was ready, Hiccup turned to Blake.

"Last chance to back out." Hiccup warned

Blake rolled her eyes in reply and proceeded to slowly open the warehouse door.

"Wait! Not yet." Hiccup said urgently. Blake stopped and turned to him in question. Hiccup ignored her however and walked over to the officers guarding the trio of faunus.

"Follow close behind the other officers as we go inside. And as I said before, make sure they don't escape."

"Yes sir." They said in unison.

Hiccup then looked at Blake. "Now you can open the door."

* * *

Adam was talking to his second in command when he heard a loud bang, resulting in the set of double doors that lead into the room he was in being blown clean off its hinges.

The three members of the White Fang that were present in the room with Adam and his second in command ran to the door with weapons drawn. However, they failed to attack before shots rang out and they each fell to the ground, dead.

Adam drew his sword and his second in command brought out his weapon, a chainsaw.

Hiccup strolled into the room, followed by a group of four police officers wearing body armour and armed with guns.

Hiccup then drew his weapons. "I wish to make a deal with you Adam." He turned to one of the police officers and nodded.

The White Fang member who was captured at the protest and the two members who had attacked Blake the day before were shoved forward.

"These three Faunus in return for the ones who were killed just now, as long as you agree to leave Blake alone."

"Never," Adam spat, "Blake belongs with me!"

"You're not really in a position to demand anything you know. Are you sure you don't want them?" Hiccup asked, gesturing to the trio behind him.

"Yes. They were only recruits. Not worth a lot, and not the best trained."

"Alright." Hiccup took out his scroll and turned away from Adam. He spoke quickly into the scroll before putting it in his pocket again.

"Well, if you're so determined to have Blake, then I can help with that." Blake entered the room just as Hiccup finished speaking.

She approached and stood in front of Adam. Adam sheathed his sword and grinned when he saw her until he heard a click and felt cold metal bite into his wrists. Looking down, he saw handcuffs placed around his wrists.

His smile disappeared and he glared at Blake. "Working for the humans now? You're a traitor to your kind." he spat.

"I don't care what you say, Adam. You sent people to attack me. Take him away." Blake directed the last words to the four police officers in the room.

Two of them walked forward and started dragging him out of the room even as he struggled, trying to get free and directing insults at Hiccup and the officers present while two more placed Adam's second in command in handcuffs and dragged him out of the room as well.

"Well, that went easier than expected." Hiccup said and Blake cocked an eyebrow.

"Really? You consider knocking out a warehouse filled with White Fang members and blowing open a set of locked doors easy?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "I meant dealing with Adam. I've seen recordings of him fighting. He is easily a better fighter than me." Hiccup replied.

"Ok. Let's get out of here."

* * *

Hiccup, Blake and the team that arrested Adam and his second command travelled back to the police station. Adam and his accomplice were brought to the station and detained in a cell each. The three Faunus were detained in individual cells as well.

Hiccup and Blake were approached by Nils Anderson.

"Not that I'm ungrateful to have Adam arrested, but if the council find out about this, I may lose my job," he told them.

"If they do find out, feel free to say I did it. It was my idea so you could say you were pressured into helping me."

Nils was shocked. "But what about you? The council won't take that sort of thing lightly."

"It'll be fine. I'm used to getting into trouble. It was the story of my life back home. Speaking of life back home, how is our visitor doing?"

"What visitor?" Blake cut in.

"An old friend from back home." Hiccup replied before looking at Nils again.

"She seems mostly fine, although rather quiet," he responded.

"Must still be thinking about things. Give her time and she should talk more." Hiccup replied.

"Thanks for the help with the raid by the way," Nils said, walking away.

"Anytime." Hiccup called in Nils direction.

Hiccup then laid a hand on Blake's shoulder. "Come on Blake. Time for you to head back to Beacon."

* * *

Blake was sitting in an interviewing office as Ozpin entered.

He sat in a seat opposite her.

"Well, this has certainly been an eventful evening." He muttered.

Blake quietly acknowledges his statement.

"I'm sure that after a night of thwarting an attempted robbery, you probably just want to go home and take a nap. But, I was hoping that maybe we could have a chance to talk."

"Of course."

Ozpin smiled. "Wonderful. As you know, in order to enrol at my academy, students must first pass a rigorous entrance exam. Most applicants spend years of preparation training at one of the many combat schools around the world. You are one of the few that did not. And you passed the exam with flying colours."

"I was raised outside the kingdoms. If you can't fight, you can't survive."

"Well, you have most certainly survived, Blake. I admire your drive. And I am proud to run a school that accepts individuals from all walks of life. Rich, poor, Human…" he pauses and sips his coffee.

"Faunus…"

Blake glares at him but he was unfazed by it. "Why do you wear that bow, Blake? Why hide who you are?"

"You may be willing to accept the Faunus, Professor Ozpin, but your species is not."

"True, but we are continuing to take strides to lessen the divide."

"With all due respect, you need to start taking some larger strides. Until then, I'd rather avoid any unnecessary attention. I want people to see me for who I am, not what I am."

"And what are you?"

"I don't understand what you're asking."

"How did you know the White Fang would be at the shipyard tonight?"

"I didn't. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time."

"You wouldn't have been the first. But what happened tonight was not an isolated incident. I may be your headmaster, but I am also a Huntsman, and it is my sworn duty to protect this world from the forces that conspire against it. Blake, are you sure there is nothing else you would like to tell me?"

"I'm sure."

"Very well. Thank you for your time, Ms Belladonna." Ozpin stands and heads to the door. He stops and turns to Blake. "If you ever need to talk to me. Please, don't hesitate to ask."

Ozpin shuts the door behind him as he leaves the room.

* * *

Blake heard someone cough, drawing her out of her thoughts.

"Still with us Blake?" Hiccup said.

"Y-Yes, just thinking about something."

"Would it happen to be about the conversation you and I had in this room a few days ago?" Ozpin said, entering the room.

"Yes," Blake admitted.

"Alright." Ozpin sat down across from her, in the same fashion as before while Hiccup stood next to the headmaster.

"I'm sure you know why we want to talk to you."

"Hiccup's special ability," Blake answered.

"Yes indeed." Ozpin leaned forward somewhat. "Can you promise that what I'm about to tell you, don't leave this room?"

"I'm not sure. My team will want to know what we talked about here."

"You can tell them that Ozpin asked about our little adventure earlier." Hiccup suggested.

"I'll do that."

"Good," Ozpin commented. "Tell me, do you know the story of the four maidens?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Do you really need to tell her about all that? Long story short, 2 years ago, he used magic which gave me the ability to turn into a mouse. It's not an ability I'm proud of or use often so I'd prefer if you don't tell anyone about it."

Blake blinked and Ozpin sighed. "I was trying to ease her into it you know Hiccup. It's a lot to take in."

"Dragons existing is a lot to take in. She handled that well enough." Hiccup said

"You told her about that?"

"Yes."

They both then looked at Blake, who was still trying to take it all in.

"I think you broke her Hiccup," Ozpin commented and they both laughed.

Blake finally broke out of her reverie a minute later. "I need to lie down."

"I think that would be for the best." Ozpin agreed as she stood up.

"Do you need help, Blake?" Hiccup asked but she shook her head.

"No. But if I could avoid my team wanting to know about this, that would be great." she groaned, clutching her head. "I think I have a headache."

"As you wish milady." Hiccup teased with a mock bow that earned him a chuckle from the cat Faunus.

Blake left the room and Hiccup sent a message to Weiss, Yang and Ruby that told them about Blake's headache.

"A certain friend from back home managed to find her way to Remnant." Hiccup stated.

"Hmm." Ozpin sipped his coffee before replying. "Where is she right now?" he asked.

"Currently at the police headquarters. She might be there for a while because Jaune is staying at my forge in Vale."

"Can she fight?"

"Yes. She was the best fighter our age back home."

"In that case maybe she can become a teacher like you."

"I'd like that idea… but we're taking risks with pretending I'm older than I am as well as keeping a false ID."

"How about we make her the de-facto leader of team JNPR?"

"That might be the best idea, but still risky. Also, would they be willing to work with her? It seems unfair to replace Jaune so soon."

"Perhaps. We will discuss the idea with them first of course." Ozpin replied before he stood up and made his way to the door.

"Now, I believe you should learn to practice your semblance with Yang Xiao Long." Ozpin said before he left the room

"Yes sir" Hiccup replied before he left as well.

* * *

The next day, Hiccup called Nils.

"Hello again." Hiccup said when the line connected.

"What are the rules in Vale concerning kids in an Orphanage and how they're supposed to be treated?"

"They can't be beaten by any staff in the orphanage." Nils replied. "If they do, and there is proof they have done so, they can be sent to prison."

"Ok. Well I have an address for an orphanage where there is at least one abused boy. Would you be willing to investigate?"

"I'll have a look. Where is it?" Hiccup told him the address and Nils spoke up again. "I'll tell you what I can find."

"Thanks." Hiccup replied before he hung up thinking about how he had met the boy.

* * *

A/N: Now, before you all leave, here is the Omake that I mentioned at the start of the chapter.

* * *

Omake: The boy with portals

* * *

Two Weeks earlier…

Hiccup was working on Pyrrha's weapon when he heard the metallic clatter of one of the bins outside his forge fall over. Hiccup put down the weapon and went outside to investigate.

Hiccup stepped outside and was greeted with the sight of a young boy rummaging in the litter in the bin.

"What are you doing?" Hiccup asked and the boy froze before looking up at Hiccup in fear.

"Do you want food?" Hiccup asked the boy. The boy didn't answer, instead choosing to run away.

Hiccup watched as the boy ran away and was about to return to fixing Pyrrha's weapon when a portal opened in the boys' path and he ran through it before it closed and he disappeared from view.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow at the sight. "That's not something you see every day." He muttered to himself before going back inside to finish repairing Pyrrha's weapon.

He finished the weapon a few minutes later and glanced at his scroll. Seeing that it was only 6:30, Hiccup pulled out a blueprint for an idea for a shield.

Hiccup got to work on the shield and finished making the basic design around 5 hours later, making plans for the features of the shield as he worked on it.

He then headed for Beacon to return Pyrrha's weapon as midnight approached, where he was caught by an unsmiling Glynda.

"Why are you here so late Hiccup?" She asked

"I was fixing Pyrrha's weapon and lost track of time. Sorry," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Glynda sighed. "It's fine. Just don't do it again."

"I'll be going then." Hiccup said, heading for the locker where Pyrrha's weapons were kept.

After placing the repaired weapon inside, he returned to his forge in Vale to sleep.

* * *

A/N: The idea for Hiccup being able to turn into a mouse and Hiccup's nickname "mousecup" was suggested by Vala411 for all of you who are interested. Now, don't forget to leave a review and I'll see you all again next time.


	13. Professor Peach

A New World

Chapter 13: Professor Peach

A/N: Another chapter for you all. On an unrelated note, how awesome is RWBY Volume 6 so far?

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Hiccup finished the call with Nils and decided to work on a new weapon at his forge. Jaune was met with the sound of a hammer striking metal when he woke up. He yawned before climbing out of bed and leaving the room.

He saw Hiccup working on what appeared to be a sword and as he approached Hiccup he tapped him on the shoulder, expecting him to drop the hammer in surprise.

To his credit, Hiccup didn't even flinch. He put down the hammer and placed the sword in some water to cool before speaking. "Good Morning Jaune," Hiccup said without turning around.

"Morning," Jaune muttered sleepily. "What are you working on?"

"Oh, just a sword that I plan to be able to use various kinds of dust. Similar idea to how Weiss' weapon works," Hiccup replied, turning around now as he spoke.

"Cool," Jaune replied. "I'm going to go get something to eat." The former student said as he walked to the door.

"In your pyjamas?" Hiccup asked with a raised eyebrow. Jaune looked down and realised, with his face flushing red in embarrassment, that he was still wearing his pyjamas.

"I must be more tired than I thought. I think I saw those windows going dark over there as well. I must be dreaming" Jaune mumbled.

Hiccup turned to look at where Jaune was staring and he too noticed that the windows of the shop across the street, Tucson's book trade had gone dark.

"You're not dreaming Jaune, I see the windows going dark too." Hiccup replied. "I'm going to take a look. You stay here"

Hiccup left the forge before Jaune could respond and walked over to Tucson's shop. He loudly knocked on the door. The door opened a few moments later and Hiccup entered.

When Hiccup entered the shop, he saw a grey-haired boy, at a similar age to him, standing near the door to the shop. He looked towards the counter and saw a green-haired girl standing near the counter while Tucson stood behind it.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything here Tucson. I can come back later if you want." Hiccup said, an apologetic expression on his face as he looked at the boy and the girl who were already present.

"It's fine. What book would you like?" Tucson asked, his face set in a forced smile for some reason.

"Do you any books where I can learn how to weave dust into clothing?"

"Ah yes, I do," Tucson replied as he began to look for a suitable book. He found one and placed it on the counter in front of him. "Here you are," he said. Hiccup placed down money to pay for the book before leaving.

Hiccup returned to the forge and Jaune turned to him with a questioning gaze.

"So what book did you buy?" Jaune asked.

"A book on how to weave dust into clothing, but that's not why I went there." Jaune looked confused so Hiccup elaborated as he reached for his scroll. "I went there to find out why the lights went dark, and I know why."

"Why?" Jaune asked.

"Tucson has visitors. I suspect he is in trouble." Hiccup replied, dialling a number on his scroll.

A loud bang that sounded suspiciously like a gunshot was heard, sounding in the direction of Tucson's shop, just as Hiccup called Nils and the ringtone started playing.

"Do you still have your scroll?" Hiccup asked Jaune.

"Yes. Why?" Jaune asked as the visitors from the store left the building.

"No time to explain. Take as many good pictures of them as you can. Quickly!" Hiccup said urgently and Jaune complied, reaching into his pocket for his scroll and nearly dropped it in the process.

Jaune held up his scroll and began taking pictures while Hiccup's call went to Nils voicemail by this point.

Hiccup pocketed the scroll before glancing at Jaune. "I think that's enough pictures Jaune."

Jaune took one last picture of the pair that had been in Tucson's shop before pocketing his scroll.

"What do we do now?" Jaune asked

"Well I have to call the public police scroll number as my contact in the police seems busy and I suspect Tucson is dead. That bang that we heard before our visitor's left his shop sounded like a gunshot. When the police arrive, we'll show them the pictures and see if they can find our… guests." Hiccup replied. Hiccup then proceeded to make the call.

* * *

After the police arrived and, as Hiccup had suspected, found Tucson's corpse with evidence of being shot in the forehead, the police officers promised to look for the pair that Jaune had taken pictures of.

Hiccup then recommended that Jaune go buy something to eat in order to keep his mind off the murder that had just happened across the street from the forge.

Jaune got dressed and ordered take-out from a noodle stand that was set up a few streets away, the same one that Hiccup had ordered food for the boy from the orphanage.

Jaune returned to the forge and began to eat. Hiccup then decided to break the news about his team at Beacon being assigned a new team leader. Hiccup didn't know how to begin to tell Jaune something like that so he decided to be blunt.

"Ozpin is planning to have someone replace you as team leader of JNPR." Hiccup said and winced when Jaune started coughing when he heard the news.

"What?" Jaune gasped after he recovered from coughing. "He's already replacing me?"

Hiccup blinked. "It hasn't happened yet Jaune. It's an idea he thought of. It might not even happen. But if it did happen, the person in question who would replace you is Astrid Hofferson. A friend of mine from back home who somehow found herself here." Hiccup said and Jaune relaxed slightly.

"Well, at least it's someone you know. What's she like?" Jaune asked

"Imagine someone who always tries to be the best at everything but has a temper and doesn't like people flirting with her." Hiccup answered, remembering all the times Snotlout tried to do so but was ignored completely.

"So like Weiss?"

"Exactly!" They both share a laugh at this.

"I'd like to meet her," Jaune said when they had stopped laughing.

"Alright then. Let's go."

* * *

Hiccup and Jaune arrive at the police station where Astrid was located.

Hiccup approached Amy, who was sitting at the reception desk.

"Hello, Amy. Is Nils here?"

"No, sir. He is currently away investigating something at an Orphanage. No idea why though. And who is this?" Amy asked, looking at Jaune, her eyes shining brightly.

"That is Jaune. He was a student at Beacon but he got expelled," Hiccup then noticed her sultry expression as she looked at Jaune.

"He has a girlfriend already, sorry Amy." The receptionist pouted in response. "No fair." She whined.

Jaune sputtered and blushed when he heard that. "P-Pyrrha's not my girlfriend." Amy looked hopeful once more while Hiccup raised an eyebrow.

"If she isn't your girlfriend then is she a friend with benefits? You did the 'horizontal tango' if I remember correctly." Hiccup chuckled as Jaune's blush deepened.

"Anyway, if you want to chase Jaune here Amy, you will have competition. Pyrrha Nikos likes him quite a lot it seems."

If it were possible, Jaune became even more red, becoming the same shade of red as Pyrrha's hair.

"Anyway, we're here to visit an old friend of mine," Hiccup said, now no longer teasing Jaune.

"Ok. First cell through there." Amy replied, pointing to the door behind reception.

"Thanks," Hiccup grabbed Jaune's arm and dragged him along, heading for the door in order to go see Astrid.

"Hello milady, what are you in for?" Hiccup said when he reached Astrid's cell.

"Hello, Hiccup." Astrid smiled, standing up from the metal bench she was sitting on and approaching the bars of the holding cell.

Her eyes then moved to Jaune, who was standing next to Hiccup.

"You have an extra visitor. Getting popular are we?" Hiccup quipped and Astrid laughed.

"Who is he?" Astrid asked

"I'm Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue and ladies love it." Jaune said, waving at her.

"Are you trying to flirt with me?" Astrid asked

"I hope he isn't. Considering I told him not too," Hiccup cut in, his tone warning. Jaune noticed his mistake and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Anyway, there is a chance that you could end up as the new leader of Jaune's former team."

"Team? What do you mean?"

"He was learning to become a hunter at Beacon. Each student is put on a team with three other people, but because he was expelled, his team is missing a member." Hiccup explained

"...So I am being chosen to join his team?"

"Yes."

"I can't do that Hiccup. This place is too… different. Besides I miss my dragon… and Gobber." she said

"Dragon? You have a dragon too?" Astrid nodded. "Her name is Stormfly. She is a Deadly Nadder. Gobber has a dragon too. This place wouldn't be so bad with Stormfly or Gobber, but I can't stay here without them."

The door that leads to the cells opened before Hiccup could reply and Nils Anderson walked through, shoving a large man who had handcuffs on, ahead of him. Nils pushed the man into a cell before turning to Hiccup and Jaune.

"Turns out that the boy you told me about was being abused. We're going to keep him here for the time being." Nils nodded to the man who was in the holding cell. Hiccup recognised him as the man who had tried to hit the boy from the Orphanage. The man looked at Hiccup and began cursing at him, but Hiccup ignored him.

"So what will happen to the boy?"

"He will be kept here until we find a better orphanage to move him to," Nils replied. "Speaking of which, I should bring him here. He is still in the police car." Nils then left and Hiccup turned to Astrid again.

"I might have a way to get you home or at least visit." Hiccup said, thinking of the boy's semblance. Astrid became hopeful when she heard this.

"Tell me more," Astrid demanded

* * *

In an old warehouse, the White Fang were moving crates as Emerald and Mercury - the pair that had been at Tucson's book trade earlier - enter the building.

"Oh, look! She sent the kids again! This is turning out just like the divorce!" Roman snarked while he approached the two from behind and wraps his arms around them in a group hug.

Emerald shivered in disgust.

"Spare us the thought of you procreating."

Emerald and Mercury pull away from Roman.

"That was a joke. And this...just might tell me where you two have been all day." Roman produces a piece of paper.

"What!? Agh…" Emerald groaned as she searched her pockets for the piece of paper but finds them empty.

"I'm a professional, sweetheart. Pay attention, maybe you'll learn something." Roman quips. He then holds up the piece of paper.

"Why do you have this address?" Roman demands, staring at them, his voice gaining an edge.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Yeah, I would. Now, where have you been all day?" Roman asked the pair.

"Cleaning up your problems. One of them, at least." Mercury replied

"I had that under control." Roman growls.

"Two packed bags and a ticket out of Vale say otherwise."

"Listen, you little punk. If it were up to me, then I would take you and your little street rat friend here and…"

"Do what, Roman?" A new voice cut in.

Cinder appears on a platform above them. She stepped onto an automated lift, riding it down to their level.

Roman laughed nervously. "I'd, uh... not kill them?"

"Cinder!" Emerald exclaimed excitedly.

"I thought I made it clear that you would eliminate the would-be runaway." Cinder said, ignoring Emerald.

"I was going to…" Roman trailed off

"He was going to escape to Vacuo! Mercury and I decided to take it upon ourselves to kill the rat." Emerald stated

"I think he was some sort of cat, actually." Mercury pointed out

Emerald scoffed. "What? Like a puma?"

"Yeah, there ya go."

"Quiet." Cinder ordered the pair.

"Did I not specifically instruct you two to keep your hands' clean while in Vale?

As Cinder speaks, Roman points a finger at the pair while laughing in agreement.

"I just thought…"

Roman uses his fingers to mime having a slit throat.

"Don't think... obey." Cinder told them.

"Yes, ma'am. It won't happen again." Emerald said apologetically

Cinder turned to Roman. "And you. Why wasn't this job done sooner?"

As Roman speaks, he points to his right, then to his left, then behind him. "Sorry if I've been busy stealing every speck of Dust in the Kingdom!"

"You're an inspiration to every punk with a gun and a ski mask," Mercury said dryly and Emerald laughs at the remark.

"Look around, kid. I've got this town running scared! Police camping out at every corner, Dust prices through the roof, and we're sitting pretty on an old warehouse with more Dust crystals, vials, and rounds than we know what to do with! Speaking of which, if you guys wouldn't mind filling me in on your grand master plan, it might actually make my next string of robberies go a little smoother!" He clenches his fist in emphasis.

Cinder walks closer to Roman. "Oh, Roman. Have a little faith." She places her hand on his face. "You'll know what you need when you need to know it." Roman seems entranced but then looked away with a grunt. "Besides, we're done with Dust." She begins to walk away.

"O-okay, then what now?" Roman wonders

"We're moving. Have the White Fang clear out this building. I'll send you details and coordinates tonight."

"Coordinates?"

Cinder looks back at Roman. "We're proceeding to phase two," she tells him. "Oh and you two," The pair look at Cinder. "Help our dear friend Adam escape."

Cinder, Mercury and Emerald begin to walk away. Roman attempts to light a cigar but realizes Emerald has stolen his lighter. She turns back to face him and sticks her tongue out defiantly.

* * *

Hiccup and Jaune leave the police station. Hiccup glanced at Jaune. "So what did you think of Astrid?" Hiccup asked as they start to walk back to his forge.

"She seems nice," Jaune commented.

Hiccup tensed suddenly for a moment before continuing to walk at his regular pace.

"Act normal Jaune." Hiccup instructed carefully. "We're being followed."

Jaune was about to turn around when Hiccup gripped his shoulder, holding him in place.

"We don't want him to know that we know we're being followed Jaune."

"Then what do we do?"

"We keep walking and try and find an alleyway. If he follows us there, we can corner him." Hiccup stated.

As agreed, Hiccup and Jaune entered an alleyway, lying in wait for the person who was following them to appear.

Hiccup turned into a mouse, just as the person who had been following appeared. Jaune looked around, bewildered, wondering where Hiccup had gone.

The mysterious person entered the alleyway and approached Jaune. The person was wearing a mask, hiding his face from view.

Hiccup transformed back into a human, appearing behind the masked person and knocking the person unconscious before they could react with a blow to the back of the head.

"How did you do that?" Jaune asked, slightly awed. "Is that your semblance?"

"No, it's not. I'll explain later. I'd rather not find out if our stalker here has friends."

They left the alleyway and were about to continue to return to the forge when they both felt something impact their skin.

They both tried to walk forward but instead ended up falling over as they both found themselves suddenly exhausted.

The pair fell to the ground and Hiccup watched as a pair of black boots approached and 'It seems our stalker does have friends' being his last thought before he fell asleep on the pavement, along with Jaune who was next to him, succumbing to sleep as well.

* * *

Hiccup's eyes fluttered open and he found himself in a dark room. He tried to stand up but found himself strapped to a chair.

"Hello, Hiccup." A voice boomed. Hiccup looked around, trying to spot the person who had spoken.

"I'm not in the same room as you so stop looking." The voice said.

"How do you I'm looking for him? Also, where am I? And where is Jaune?" Hiccup asked, now looking for him.

"He's not there either. And I won't tell you where you are. Not yet at least. As for how I could tell you moved, there are Infrared cameras in the room. Don't look for them either, they are too small for you to see"

"What do you want with me?" Hiccup asked but received no answer this time. Suddenly, Hiccup heard a loud creaking sound and a set of doors opened, flooding the room with sunlight. Hiccup closed his eyes before opening them again slowly to adjust to the light.

When Hiccup was able to see again, he noticed that the room he was in was made of solid steel and apart from the chair he was sitting in, the room had no furniture at all. He then noticed that there was a loudspeaker in the corner of the room and assumed that was how the voice had spoken to him.

A Faunus woman with rabbit ears wearing a business suit entered the room and approached Hiccup, standing in front of him.

"Hello Hiccup." the woman said, smiling. "I am Professor Peach."

"Hello." Hiccup said

"I'm sure you have lots of questions so feel free to ask and I will try to answer them."

"Ok. Well, first I want to know where I am."

"I can't tell you exactly where you are, but you are still in Vale so don't worry too much. Next question"

"Ok. Where is Jaune?"

"In another room nearby waiting for you."

"What do you want with me?"

"I want to ask you questions about a friend of mine. Tucson. I'm sure you know what happened to him"

"Yes…? Still doesn't explain why you brought me here. You could have simply asked me questions at the police station or at my forge." Hiccup pointed out.

"That is true, we could have done that. But that is not the only reason you were brought here." Professor Peach knelt down and started undoing the straps that kept Hiccup attached to the chair he was sitting on.

"Jaune will likely have questions as well so let's go meet him and answer his questions. I will then tell you both why you are here." Professor Peach said as she unfastened the straps, allowing Hiccup to stand up before she rose to her full height again.

"What is your first name?" Hiccup asked. "It seems somewhat rude to refer to you as a fruit." Professor Peach chuckled at his response. "You're the first person to tell me that," she said between laughs. "My first name is Violet."

"Violet Peach?" Violet nodded

"What about you?" Violet then asked Hiccup.

"What?"

"What is your full name?"

"I'd rather not say."

"Why not? I told you my name."

"I'm not sure if I can trust you yet," Hiccup responded.

"...Fair enough I guess. Let's go." Violet turned and left the room without waiting for Hiccup, who hurried to catch up with her.

Violet led Hiccup to an unassuming grey building that had a single large window on the side. Hiccup could see Jaune sitting at a table near the window. He was facing away from them so he didn't see them approach until the pair entered the building through a door that was next to the window.

Jaune notices Hiccup and waves in his direction. Hiccup waves at Jaune before making his way over to his table. Hiccup sat next to Jaune while Violet sat across from them.

"So will you finally tell us why we're here?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes. You're here because you may give us an idea on who killed Tucson." Violet replied.

"Us? What do you mean us?" Jaune asked Violet. She smiled slightly.

"Welcome to Faunus First. I am the leader of the group now that Tucson is dead" Violet said, her voice slightly sad.

"Faunus First? You mean the group that was protesting until the White Fang arrived?" Violet nodded.

"Yes. If I recall, you were there."

Hiccup became suspicious. "How do you know that?"

"I'm sure you can figure it out Hiccup. You seem smart."

"Blake." Hiccup said after thinking for a few moments. "She works for you. Is that why she was there at the protest?" Violet nodded, confirming his thoughts.

"You've nearly figured it out but Jaune here still seems confused so I'll just tell you. We're… kind of like spies, kind of like vigilanties, looking out for the Faunus, before anyone else."

"So you aim to protect Faunus and human citizens in Vale, with Faunus being the priority" Violet nodded. "That's right."

"The name makes sense now." Hiccup commented.

"That doesn't really explain why you brought us here." Jaune pointed out.

"I'm getting to that. You remember how recently Blake was attacked by two White Fang members Hiccup?" Hiccup nodded. "What did you do when you found out?"

"I made one of them tell me where Adam was and made sure he was arrested, with the help of the police."

"Yes. Now, believe it or not, the attack on Blake was staged somewhat. See, we had been watching the White Fang and you Hiccup for a while and we knew that Adam was looking for her. So we wanted to see how you would react to the attack. Would you try and protect Blake or would you do nothing. You protected her, so that is why we brought you here.

"You want us to help you?"

"Bingo. You see, when we have time, we are able to protect people. This morning with Tucson proves what happens when we don't have time. That is where you and Jaune come in…"

"Basically she wants you to help provide information on people who could be in danger, Faunus in particular, even if we do help both Humans and Faunus," Blake said, appearing as if out of thin air.

"How did you do that and aren't you meant to be in a class at Beacon?" Hiccup wondered

"I learned to move silently when I was still part of the White Fang, and classes ended a while ago. You two were asleep for a while." Blake explained

Hiccup accepted her answer before he turned his gaze to Jaune. "Do you still have your scroll?" he asked. Jaune nodded and pulled out his scroll.

"Show Violet the pictures you took earlier." Jaune complied, going into the scroll's gallery and selected a picture that displayed the duo who had visited Tucson, before sliding the scroll over to Violet so she could see the pictures.

"These are the people who were there when Tucson died. I think they killed him." Violet nodded without looking up at him.

"Does this mean you're going to help us?" Violet asked after looking at the pictures. Hiccup and Jaune both nodded. "Welcome to Faunus First then boys." Violet smiled

Hiccup's scroll then started ringing. He stood up, took it out of his pocket and answered the call. "I need to go." Hiccup said, his voice urgent after the call had ended. "What is it?" Blake asked, concerned.

"It's Adam," Hiccup said grimly. "He's escaped from the police station."

* * *

A/N: You didn't think I was finished with Adam did you?


	14. Infiltration

A New World

Chapter 14: Infiltration

A/N: A chapter this way cometh… shorter than usual though.

But you do get another omake at the end of the chapter. There is also a poll on my profile where you can vote for Astrid's semblance.

* * *

Violet insisted that Hiccup and Jaune should go back to Hiccup's forge, promising that Faunus First would search for Adam by themselves.

Hiccup and Jaune agreed to this, despite Hiccup being reluctant to do so at first.

The pair arrived back at the forge as the sun was setting. Hiccup made a beeline for Toothless and led him out of the room.

"What are you doing?" Jaune asked as he watched Hiccup place a saddle on Toothless' back and grab his leather mask.

"Going to search for Adam." Hiccup replied.

"But they said we didn't have to. That they would handle it."

"Perhaps. But I don't trust Violet or Faunus First. Besides, a Huntsman is supposed to help people. I'm not going to stop, simply because I'm told to." Hiccup said shortly.

"Want to come with?" He then asked, eyeing Jaune

"I have motion sickness," Jaune admitted.

"That's unfortunate. Well, I'll be back later." Hiccup then lead Toothless out of the forge, put on his mask and the pair took off.

Later on, Hiccup directed Toothless to land on the rooftop of the nearest building.

He took out his scroll with one hand while lifting up his mask.

He then called Blake.

"Where are you, Blake?" Hiccup asked when the call with the cat faunus connected. Hiccup had been searching for Adam from the skies above Vale for an hour but had received no success.

"At Beacon" she replied quickly.

"Really?" He questioned, voice filled with disbelief. "You really expect me to believe that."

"It's true!" She protested.

"Uh huh. Sure. Any luck finding Adam?"

"What makes you think I'm looking for him?"

"Just a hunch. Now tell me, have you found any sign of him?" Blake was silent for a few moments before she spoke again.

"No I haven't," she admitted. "You shouldn't be looking for Adam anyway. Violet said she would take care of this."

"True. But I don't trust her much yet. Besides, it is my job as a Huntsman to protect people. I'm not going to let someone I barely know tell me when to do my job. Not even you Blake." Hiccup said.

Blake became silent again, and Hiccup started to wonder if she had hung up when she spoke again.

"Alright. Meet me at the VPD headquarters if you want to help find him." She said before ending the call for real.

Hiccup arrived at the police station after leaving Toothless at his forge.

He entered the building and approached Amy at the reception. She was in a call so she simply mouthed 'go in' when she saw him, pointing to the door behind her.

Hiccup went through the door to find Blake and saw her waiting outside Astrid's cell along with a familiar girl with bunny ears accompanied by a girl wearing sunglasses and a black Beret, carrying a rectangular handbag.

"Velvet Scarlatina and Coco Adel. Shouldn't you two be at Beacon? I wouldn't have thought to see you here." They spun around to see him.

"I could ask you the same thing." Coco shot back

"I'm here to see Blake over here. Why are you here?"

The pair looked at Blake. "Does he know about Tukson and 'them'?" Coco asked.

"Yes, I know what happened to Tukson. And I know about Faunus First. I can be spoken to directly you know." Hiccup said before Blake could respond.

"Just making sure. We're here to find out if anyone here can tell us about our escapees."

"Have you tried the Faunus' over there?" Hiccup wondered.

Coco shook her head. "Velvet asked them, but didn't get any answers."

"Alright-"

"Can someone tell me what's going on?" Astrid asked, cutting Hiccup off as she watched the scene unfold with some confusion. "Who is Tukson? What is Faunus first? And what is a Faunus anyway? Also, why do you two have two sets of ears?" Astrid wondered, looking at Blake and Velvet.

Coco turned on her. "What do you mean by that? Are you racist like Cardin too?!" she growled, getting rather angry.

Hiccup placed a hand on her shoulder. "Astrid means nothing by it, Coco. She's never seen a Faunus before. Two years ago, I would have been in the same boat."

Coco calmed down slightly and turned to him. "What do you mean?" Hiccup sighed and Blake chuckled lightly.

"Here we go again. Can you tell her this time Blake? You've heard this story before." Hiccup asked, looking at her with a hopeful expression.

She shook her head with a smirk. "Sorry Hiccup, you're on your own."

He sighed again. "Well here goes then I guess."

Hiccup then began to tell Velvet and Coco his story.

"Astrid and I are not from Remnant but a place called Berk. I lived there for fifteen years. When I eventually left, two years ago, I ended up on an island where I found a portal that led me to Remnant. The first person I met was Ruby and Yang's Uncle, Qrow Branwen, or more accurately, he founded me wounded by an Ursa."

He paused to see Velvet and Coco engrossed in the story before continuing.

"After Qrow found me, he brought me to a house in a place called where I met Yang and Ruby and their father, Taiyang before Qrow brought me to see Ozpin the next day. Ozpin offered to train me to fight and I lived in a small room at Beacon until I got my forge. Although I still use that room and it is now my office as well as my bedroom." Hiccup finished his brief story.

"You forgot to mention Toothless Hiccup," Blake spoke up, still smirking.

"Who's Toothless?" Velvet asked, while Coco tried and failed to hold back her laughter at the name.

Hiccup shot Blake a deadpan stare that said 'You're kidding, right…?'

"That was something I didn't want to mention, but I'll explain tomorrow at my forge if you really want to know."

"Alright." Velvet and Coco agreed in unison.

"Ok. Now, Astrid have you seen a person with red hair wearing a mask recently?"

"Yeah. The person was with a girl with green hair and a boy with grey hair. They were escaping in a hurry." Astrid replied.

"Alright." Hiccup brought out his scroll and called Jaune.

After the call, he showed Astrid the pictures that he had shown Violet earlier on in the day.

"Are these people the ones that you saw escaping?" Hiccup asked. She looked at the pictures and nodded. "Thank you, Astrid," Hiccup said gratefully before turning to Blake, Velvet and Coco and showed them the pictures.

"Keep an eye out for them. They'll know where he is so maybe we can find out from them." Hiccup said before sending the pictures to each of their scrolls.

The trio nodded and left the police station.

Hiccup then turned to Astrid. "So I'm assuming you have questions" Hiccup stated.

Astrid responded with a nod. "Alright. What do you want to know first?"

"Who is Tukson?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup sighed as he fought of what to say. "Tukson was… someone I knew." Hiccup replied sadly. Astrid waited for Hiccup to say more but moved on when he remained silent.

"What is a Faunus?" Astrid wondered.

"A Faunus is someone who is part Human and part animal. For example Blake, who is part cat and Velvet, who is part rabbit."

"Alright, I have just one more question. What is Faunus First?" Astrid asked.

"Faunus First is a group of Faunus who are trying to be seen as equals to humans. Faunus aren't particularly liked here so Faunus First is trying to change that."

"So that's why Blake and Velvet have two sets of ears then. Because they're Faunus."

Hiccup nodded, "Yes. Exactly."

"Wow. There is a lot to learn about this place." Astrid commented. "Fishlegs would think he is in Valhalla." Hiccup and Astrid both laughed.

"Now, enough about Vale. Tell me what you've been up to since I left Berk."

"Alright Hiccup, but you might want to get comfortable. It's a long story."

"I've got time."

"Alright, well back home there is a man called Viggo Grimborn…" Astrid began.

* * *

In the Afternoon, the following day, Jaune and Hiccup were sparring again. "Ok, stop." Hiccup instructed Jaune after they had been sparring for a while.

"Why don't you avoid strikes by moving around?" he asked.

"I-" Jaune was saved from having to answer when Pyrrha appeared at the door.

"Hello Jaune." she smiled. "And Hiccup."

"Hi," Jaune greeted

"Hello." Hiccup said. "Are classes now finished?"

"Yes. What are you two up to?"

"Well, I'm trying to get Jaune to move around more. He tends to stand still." Hiccup explained.

"Maybe I can help." Pyrrha suggested. "Be my guest." Hiccup replied.

Pyrrha entered the forge and strode over to Jaune. She looked at the sword that he was holding and noticed that it wasn't his own. She took it from Jaune and looked at it more closely. "Who made this?" she wondered.

"I did." Hiccup replied.

"Why didn't he use his own sword? He already has one."

"He said he wanted to try using mine." Hiccup replied with a shrug. His scroll started ringing in his pocket. He took out his scroll to find out that it was Ozpin who was calling him.

He answered the call after stepping outside the forge.

"Hello?"

"Hiccup. I have some bad news. Henry found out about Adam and the raid where you managed to arrest him. He wants to see you."

"Alright. Where is he?"

"With me in my office at Beacon. The chief of police is also here."

"On my way." Hiccup said before hanging up.

Hiccup looked up when he suddenly heard an airship moving overhead. Scratch that, three airships moving overhead. Each heading in the direction of Beacon.

Hiccup wondered who was travelling in the large airships but pushed the thought aside as he turned and entered the forge again. "I have to go to Beacon right now, so feel free to train until I get back." Jaune and Pyrrha nodded in acknowledgement.

* * *

Hiccup was greeted by the sight of Ozpin, Glynda, Nils, and a fourth person who was wearing a white suit as well as an angry Henry Winchester, the latter who happened to have a red face when he entered Ozpin's office.

"Care to explain why a raid was performed to arrest Adam Taurus without the councils' knowledge or permission?" Henry growled, glaring at Hiccup.

"Simple. I'm a huntsman. As a huntsman, I'm supposed to protect people. On top of that, I'm the guidance counsellor at this school. As a result of two Faunus individuals who attacked a student. I simply did what I thought was necessary to stop an attack from happening to another student."

"You should have asked for permission," Henry replied.

"And let more attacks happen?" Hiccup asked pointedly. "Not a chance."

"Alright. I want Ozpin to give me your huntsman licence.

You're suspended indefinitely, for not following the rules." Henry made his way to the exit.

"And saving your son's life?" That got Henry's attention as he turned back to look at Hiccup. "What did you say?" he asked.

"Back on a recent field trip, your son was cornered by an Ursa. I killed the Ursa, saving his life. He had acquired rapier wasps, which just so happen to be able to kill people as their stings can bypass Aura." Hiccup explained, to the shock of Nils and the man wearing the white suit, who hadn't heard the story before, while Ozpin and Glynda showed no surprise at the news.

"Now, I didn't have Cardin expelled then, despite being justified to do so. But I will do so now."

Henry looked at Hiccup with a questioning gaze. "What do you want?"

"I want you to get rid of this rule of yours, instead only needing the council to know about the actions of the police and Huntsman instead of having to ask for permission to do our jobs. Do you all agree?" Hiccup asked, looking at Ozpin, Glynda, Nils and the man in the white suit in turn, who voiced their agreements.

Hiccup turned back to Henry with a smirk. "Alright." Henry spat, face red in anger once more. "I'll tell the Council about this but don't think this matter is over."

"I think it is over Henry. Remember I also have a seat on the council." Ozpin reminded him as the man left Ozpin's office.

Hiccup then looked at the man in the white suit for longer.

The man was leanly muscled. He was also clean shaven, with short black hair, although his hair was grey on either side of his head. Hiccup also noticed there was a part of his face where his skin was missing, replaced with …a strip of metal? Which he found odd.

Hiccup then looked at the clothes the man was wearing.

The man was wearing a white overcoat, with a grey undercoat, black sweater, a red necktie, and a white glove on his right hand. His trousers were also white and his trousers were tucked into a pair of silver coloured boots.

"Who are you?" Hiccup asked the man.

"I am General Ironwood." The man replied. "Who are you?"

"Hiccup." Hiccup replied. "I mentioned this a few minutes ago already but I am the guidance counsellor here at Beacon. I've heard about you in passing."

"Ah. Only good things right?"

"Yeah."

"Did you notice my airships arrive?"

Hiccup blinked. "That was you."

Ironwood nodded. "You brought soldiers to a school?" Hiccup asked while resisting the strong urge to facepalm.

"Is there some large threat that everyone here except me is unaware of? One that would need you to bring soldiers to Vale and place them right outside the school." Hiccup drawled.

The atmosphere of the room became slightly tense and Ozpin decided to intervene

"As much as this may be interesting to watch, some students from the other academies are starting to arrive for the Vytal festival," Ozpin said. "I want you to go meet them Hiccup. I've sent the details of each student to your scroll."

"Alright." Hiccup took out his scroll and looked at it before he did a double take and looked at it again.

Two of the students that had joined Beacon for the Vytal festival were Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black.

* * *

A/N: And now, an omake…

* * *

Omake: To mousecup or not to mousecup

* * *

 _ **Two years ago**_

Hiccup had just met Ozpin the previous day when he was summoned to the headmaster's office via a call on the strange device that Ozpin had called a 'scroll'. He was still convinced it was witchcraft as he hadn't seen anything like it before.

(Hiccup decided to gloss over the fact that Ozpin had given him a secret ability using magic, with permission of course.)

Hiccup entered the office where he saw Ozpin, Glynda and two other people, one was a tall man with green hair and glasses while the other had large bushy eyebrows and had a large belly.

"Ah, Hiccup. I'd like you to meet Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck" Ozpin said, pointing first to the fat man that reminded him of Gobber a bit and then to the tall green haired man wearing glasses.

"Pleasure to meet you! Tell me, what is your name?" Doctor Oobleck said, speaking rather quickly.

"H-Hiccup." Hiccup said, slightly nervous.

"Ah! You seem like a fine young man!" Professor Port said heartily. "Even if your name is a little odd."

Hiccup then nearly had a heart attack when the Hyper Doctor Oobleck zoomed over to Hiccup, stopping mere inches away from his face.

"Tell me, young man, where are you from?" The man asked, still speaking quickly.

Hiccup freaks out from this action and transforms into a mouse, making the two lectures look around the room in surprise, thinking Hiccup had disappeared.

"Where has he gone?" Professor Port wondered, unaware of the mouse that had scurried across the office floor and was now trying to climb onto Professor Port.

Doctor Oobleck is the first to notice and tells Port about the mouse.

Professor Port looks down and sees the mouse attempting to climb onto his shoe.

He picks up the mouse, which was actually Hiccup and decided, for whatever strange reason, to put the mouse on his head.

Hiccup started to move around in the Professors' hair. Port then moved a hand through his hair, knocking Hiccup off his head in the process. Hiccup succeeded in wrapping his tail around Port's ear. This made the man freak out and he ran from the room, screaming like a girl.

From that day forward, Professor Port became terrified of mice, especially their tails. If asked, he would say "They bring only disease and famine" before beginning a rant on how the tail of a mouse was "hairless and unnatural."

* * *

A/N: Well that's all folks! Leave a review and I'll see you all again soon.

 **A/N 2:**

 **Vala: (Cuddles mousecup)  
Sil: "PUT THE MOUSE DOWN!"**

 **Vala: "No! He's cute!"**

 **Sil: "I need him!"**

 **Vala: "Just a little cuddle?" (mousecup squeaks frightened in Vala's hands)**

 **Sil: "You are scaring the Viking!"**

 **Vala: (Runs away with mousecup)**

 **Sil: "Get back here!" (Chases)**


	15. What happened?

A New World

Chapter 15: What happened?

A/N: This chapter follows immediately on from where chapter 14 ended so I recommend Y'all to go back and read the ending to that chapter (before the omake) to understand what is happening. Also, as mentioned in the previous chapter, there is a poll on my profile where you can vote for Astrid's semblance. The results of the poll so far are:

Invisibility - 3 votes

The ability to see through illusions. (She can't be tricked by illusions if this becomes her semblance) - 2 votes

The ability to talk to dragons/people telepathically - 1 vote

Also, brace yourselves for a time skip this chapter. Unlike the previous time skip nearer the start of the story, this one is more in order to change the way the story is progressing as I think it is following cannon a bit too closely, as well as to (hopefully) excite you, readers. Beware of RWBY Volume 3 & Volume 4 spoilers in this chapter and chapters to follow. And now on with the show!

* * *

Ozpin noticed his reaction. "What's wrong?"

"Two of the students here were the people who killed Tukson." Hiccup replied.

Ozpin approached him and looked at the scroll. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes. Jaune took pictures of them after they left his shop." Hiccup stated.

Ozpin's face became unusually serious. "Well if that is true then we must deal with the matter as soon as possible. Send their team here."

Hiccup nodded and left Ozpin's office.

A few minutes later Hiccup stood outside the dorm room that Emerald and Mercury had been assigned and knocked on the door. The door was opened by a woman with black hair and amber eyes. She looked Hiccup up and down before speaking.

"Hello. How can I help you?" The woman asked. She was now staring at his face and Hiccup swore her eyes were glowing, as if on fire for a moment.

"Ozpin wants to speak with you and your team in his office." Hiccup replied.

"Ok. We'll be there in a few minutes."

"Do you know where Ozpin's office is?"

"Yes." The woman then shut the door abruptly, without another word, leaving Hiccup staring awkwardly at the now shut door. He turned to leave after a few moments. 'Well that was awkward' Hiccup thought to himself as he walked down the hallway, away from the dorm room.

He took out his scroll as he was walking and sent a text to Ozpin, asking if there was anything else he was needed to do. The reply he received confirmed that there was nothing else for him to do, letting him go free for the rest of the day. He sent off another text that asked a different question and smiled at the reply he received from Ozpin. He then made his way to team JNPR's dorm before planning to make his way back to his forge in Vale.

* * *

He stood outside team JNPR's room and knocked on the door before waiting for the door to open. He waited for several seconds, becoming increasingly more nervous as he thought of what he had to tell them about.

The door was opened a bit and Ren poked his head out. He looked both ways down the hallway before focusing on Hiccup. He then retreated into the room while leaving the door open, allowing Hiccup to enter the room. Once inside the room with the door closed behind him, Hiccup fixed Ren with a questioning gaze.

"It's Nora." The black haired teen started to explain. "She tends to get jealous whenever I bring ...people of the same gender here. She thinks I tend to date them." Ren finished with a grimace.

"Wouldn't she know that I'm not allowed to do that…?" He trailed off as he saw Ren shake his head, grimacing once more. "Riiight… I shouldn't have asked." Hiccup replied.

"You two really need to get together." Hiccup commented offhandedly and Ren blushed, his cheeks matching the strand of hair that was highlighted pink and stood out from the rest of his hair.

"But anyway, as to why I'm here… let me just say that what I'm about to say was suggested by Ozpin and I don't agree with his idea." Hiccup began before he told Ren about Ozpin's idea to assign Astrid as the new team leader of team JNPR.

Hiccup finished explaining the idea and looked at Ren, waiting for his reaction.

Hiccup was somewhat surprised when Ren remained calm.

"You're taking this quite well" Hiccup commented. "How do you do that?"

"Nora. Staying around her means I can usually stay calm. She is good practice." Ren said. "If I wasn't able to stay calm around her then I'd probably be insane by now."

"Ok. Do you think having Astrid as a team leader is a good idea?" Hiccup then asked

"I'm not sure. I don't know much about her. I'd like to meet her before deciding that. What is she like, personality wise?"

"Competitive, Determined, Smart and Beautiful." Hiccup answered.

"Sounds a bit like Weiss then," Ren commented. "Seems you and Jaune like similar girls."

"Jaune dates Pyrrha though…" Hiccup said, confused.

Ren shook his head. "That's only since he left Beacon. Before that, he tried hitting on Weiss, despite Pyrrha having a crush on him for a while. He was quite dense and never noticed during the time he was here."

"The pot calling the kettle black" Hiccup drawled, continuing to speak and ignoring Ren as he sputtered indignantly. "Jaune noticed the way you two looked at each other while he was still here. He told me as much. You should make a move as well."

"What about you and Astrid?" Ren shot back when he had stopped sputtering in indignation.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow in question. "What about me and Astrid?"

"Why haven't you gone on a date with her yet?"

"A few reasons. The biggest one being the fact that I haven't seen her in two years and at that point in time we had just started off as friends. We have to reconnect first."

"Alright." Ren's eyes then narrowed in determination. "Let's make an agreement. I go out with Nora and you go out with Astrid after reconnecting with her, and preferably sooner rather than later, before she becomes our team leader."

"Woah. Woah. Woah. Slow down, Ren. It might not happen you know. Since this is a decision that will affect the whole team, I'd prefer it if every member, including Jaune, agreed to the idea. Now Jaune has met her-"

"You're rambling," Ren said, cutting Hiccup off.

"Sorry. The point is, I want all four of you to agree to the idea before Astrid becomes your team leader."

"Fair enough. Now, do you agree with my agreement?" Ren asked, holding out a hand.

"Sure." Hiccup said as he grasped Ren's hand. Hiccup then let go and stood up. "I have some stuff to do so you have time to get a head start. Good luck!" Hiccup said, smirking as Ren blushed again.

Hiccup opened the door to find Nora standing on the other side. She squealed when she saw Hiccup before pushing past him and approaching Ren. "What have you been doing with him, Ren?" The energetic girl asked with her hands on her hips.

Ren shot Hiccup a look that begged him for help. Hiccup, however, chose to leave the room at that moment, leaving Ren at Nora's mercy. Hiccup did, however, mouth the words 'head start' teasingly before he closed the door.

'When did I become this cruel?' Hiccup thought as he walked away, heading for his forge again.

Around the same time that Hiccup was talking to Ren, Cinder, Emerald and Mercury entered Ozpin's office. Along with Ozpin, Glynda Goodwitch, General Ironwood and Nils Anderson were all still present. The four of them looked at the trio who had just entered the room before Ozpin spoke up.

"Welcome! Please, take a seat," he said, gesturing to four chairs that had been placed in front of his desk.

"I am Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon Academy." Ozpin then looked at the chair that remained empty. "If you don't mind me asking, where is the fourth member of your team?" Ozpin asked after they had each sat down.

"She is shopping in Vale." Cinder replied.

"Alright, now as to why I called you here…" Ozpin began.

* * *

Hiccup walked into his forge to see it empty, with no sign of Jaune or Pyrrha anywhere. Thinking they were in the same room where Toothless was, he walked to the door that leads to the room and knocked on the door. Receiving no response, he opened the door and looked inside the room, finding it empty apart from Toothless, who opened a lazy eye to look at Hiccup before proceeding to sleep once more.

"Hello to you too, you lazy dragon." Hiccup replied and received an indignant noise from the dragon. Looking around the room once more, he noticed that there was a note placed near the foot of the bed in the room. He picked up the note and read it.

'Gone to find something to eat with Pyrrha. Will be back later. Jaune'

Hiccup discarded the note before deciding to finish working on the sword that Jaune had asked to use during training earlier. He picked up the sword in question, which had been placed on the anvil near the door. Hiccup inspected the sword briefly before leaving the forge and heading to a store to buy dust, not noticing a certain red-haired, masked Faunus, watching him from a distance. The Faunus in question headed to Hiccup's forge as soon as he could no longer see Hiccup.

After purchasing dust from a shop called 'From Dust to Dawn' where an old man worked as the shopkeeper, who just so happened to be identical in every way to the man working at the noodle food stand, despite claiming to have never seen Hiccup before, Hiccup returned to his forge. Jaune and Pyrrha were busy sparring with each other, so Hiccup crept into the forge quietly, trying not to disturb them much.

It didn't matter, however, as Jaune spotted him as soon as he entered the forge.

"Hey, Hiccup." Hiccup froze and turned around to face Jaune and Pyrrha.

"Hello. Don't mind me. I'll just be working over here. You can continue to spar if you want." Hiccup replied before putting the dust that he had bought away and picked up the sword that was placed on the anvil.

"Jaune told me about Astrid," Pyrrha said before he could do anything else. "Is it true that Ozpin wants to replace Jaune as leader of my team?" She asked, her tone equal parts curious and angry.

Hiccup nodded. "Yes, although-" Hiccup cut himself off however when he heard something start beeping faintly. "Do you guys hear that?" he asked them. "Hear what?" Jaune asked.

Hiccup ignored him however and walked to the bedroom at the back of the forge, the sound getting louder as he approached the room. He took one look inside the room before turning around. "You need to get out of here immediately. There's a bomb in there." Hiccup said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

The pair left the forge immediately, even though both wanted to say more. Hiccup entered the room and walked over to Toothless, who had been woken by the bomb when it started beeping.

"Come on bud. We need to get out of here," Hiccup said. Toothless crooned in agreement started to move forward, before he stopped at the door and turned to look at Hiccup, wondering why he wasn't following him.

"Just go Toothless. I'll be right behind you." Hiccup comforted the dragon and Toothless turned and started walking again. Hiccup glanced at the bomb before following after Toothless. He managed to grab his leather mask just as the bomb exploded. Hiccup was caught in the blast however and ended up becoming trapped under rubble when the roof of the forge caved in. The rubble fell on Hiccup's lower half with a sickening crack.

Pyrrha immediately called for the emergency services while Jaune watched the scene unfold, frozen on the spot in shock while Toothless started to dig into the rubble. The dragon growled in worry which snapped Jaune out of his stupor and he ran over to help Toothless.

* * *

Cinder was back in her dorm room and packing her belongings after being told by Ozpin that half of her team had been disqualified from the Vytal festival, while the other half - Emerald and Mercury - had been arrested. She guessed it had something to do with the pair being involved in Tukson's murder. She clenched a fist in anger and her eyes glowed. Because of them, her and by extension Salem's, plans had been ruined.

She was certain that her team would be investigated and she would be hunted down once they found out about her maiden powers. It had happened a few times since she had gained the powers, but only by one man, and only ever one man, who just so happened to use a scythe.

She then became nervous as she remembered that she had to report back to Salem. Her boss would not be pleased. But maybe she could shift the blame to Emerald and Mercury? It was their fault after all. As a result, she was somewhat hopeful when she made the call to Salem.

All hope was dashed however when Salem spoke in a soft voice when the line connected and she had explained the situation to her. It was the voice she used when she was most angry.

"I want you to explain to me, how you managed to fail so spectacularly…" Salem said.

* * *

Hiccup woke up with a jolt. He sat up in the bed he was in moments later after calming down before he looked around the room. The room contained two rows of hospital beds with a few nurses checking on the other patients before they eventually left the room. On Hiccup's left, there was a single large window that was letting in only a little sunlight, as the sun was now setting, turning the sky various shades of red, orange and pink.

Hiccup was suddenly startled somewhat moments later when he heard someone pointedly clear their throat. Hiccup looked over to where the sound had come from and saw Glynda standing at the foot of the hospital bed Hiccup was sitting in.

"I didn't know a huntsman could be startled that easily," Glynda smirked.

"I wasn't startled." Hiccup said, suddenly feeling defensive.

"Right." Glynda deadpanned, rolling her eyes. "Wait here." she left the room and returned a few minutes later with a wheelchair. Hiccup eyed the chair with confusion.

"Why do I need that?" Hiccup wondered.

"You lost the lower half of your left leg," she said bluntly.

"Did I?" Hiccup asked, shocked before lifting the bed sheets to check and finding that she was telling the truth.

"Why would I lie?" Glynda asked with an eyebrow raised

Hiccup winced. "Sorry. It's just that it's a bit unbelievable to wake up and find out you've lost a leg." Hiccup muttered. "How long was I asleep for?"

"About a year," Glynda replied. "You were a coma." She said before deciding to look away.

Hiccup guessed something was wrong but decided not to ask any more questions for now, instead moving his legs over the side of the bed in preparation for his attempt to walk with half a leg gone.

Hiccup stood up successfully but stumbled and nearly fell over when he tried to walk, which was more of a hop. Glynda caught him before he fell and helped him into the wheelchair. "Thanks," Hiccup said gratefully. "Where is Toothless?" Hiccup then asked when he was sitting in the chair.

"You'll see," Glynda replied cryptically while ignoring Hiccup's confused gaze as she walked behind the wheelchair and began to push it along.

"I've already signed you out by the way Hiccup," Glynda commented, a few minutes later as the two of them arrived at a lift. Glynda pressed the button to call the lift and they waited in silence.

The lift arrived and they went inside, with Glynda not talking Hiccup became bored. The lift stopped at ground level and the journey by wheelchair continued.

"Can you at least tell me where the other students are?" Hiccup asked, tone verging on begging. "Where is team RWBY? Where is team JNPR?"

"No, I can't." Glynda snapped, taking Hiccup aback. She didn't shout the words, but the sentence was no less angry. What took Hiccup aback, however, was the fact that tears had formed in her eyes. In all the time that Hiccup had known Glynda, she had rarely shown an emotion other than anger. To see here on the verge of crying meant that whatever had happened must have really shaken her up.

They left the hospital and Glynda wheeled Hiccup to a waiting car. Glynda opened the passenger door and almost threw Hiccup into the car, while at the same time taking care not to jostle his left leg too much.

Glynda then folded the wheelchair and placed it in the boot of the car before walking over to the driver's door, getting inside and starting the car before driving off.

* * *

Glynda stopped the car outside a building that Hiccup felt he should recognize as it looked vaguely familiar but couldn't tell what building it was. The building looked to be on the verge of crumbling as if the building would collapse from a light breeze.

"Where are we?" Hiccup asked, bracing himself for an angry answer from Glynda. Instead, her reply seemed calm. "That was the Vale police department headquarters," she replied. Hiccup was shocked as he stared at the building that threatened to collapse at any moment.

"Why are we here?" Hiccup then asked

"Mostly to give you a tour of Vale currently. A lot has changed since that explosion Hiccup. You were almost lucky to be in a coma and not have to see what happened here recently."

"Was it Grim?" Hiccup guessed.

"No. Much worse. There was Grim involved, but it wasn't a simple Grim attack. That would have been better than what actually happened." Glynda replied grimly. "Where do you want to go next?"

"I want to see Toothless if possible, and I want to help out around here. I've been sleeping for far too long it seems." Hiccup said light-heartedly and Glynda's lipped upturned in a small smile.

"It's good to have you back Hiccup," she commented, now appearing happier before she drove off again.

* * *

They arrived at what remained of Beacon and Hiccup immediately noticed that Beacon tower, where Ozpin's office was located, was destroyed. This again shocked Hiccup, as it was well known that the school was almost like a fortress in its own right. To see Beacon even partially destroyed gave Hiccup a glimpse of an idea at how bad the attack was.

"So this is where Toothless is?" Hiccup asked when he had found his voice.

"This is where most of Vale is now. Everyone who hasn't left since the attack is here."

"Okay." Hiccup replied, still trying to figure out how Beacon was attacked.

Glynda knew what he was thinking when she spoke up again. "I know who can answer all your questions. Come on." Glynda said before climbing out the car.

"Uh, Glynda? Can't walk, remember?" Hiccup pointed out.

"I'm not using that wheelchair again," Glynda said as she opened the passenger side door.

"Then how will I be able to move? I can't walk without falling over every two steps."

"You'll find out," Glynda smirked. Hiccup shrugged and undid his seatbelt before finding himself surrounded by a purple glow, realizing what she was going to do just before it happened.

Hiccup was lifted into the air and carried out of the car before she began walking towards Beacon. "Enjoying yourself Hiccup?" She teased, as they walked while she used her semblance to suspend him in the air.

"Oh haha." Hiccup deadpanned, without a hint of humour in his voice. "Never do this again. I don't care if I have to use crutches or push my wheelchair along, just never do this." He was however ignored by Glynda as she continued to walk.

* * *

Eventually, Hiccup and Glynda arrived at a room at Beacon with nine people present and gathered around a large circular table that had ten seats surrounding it.

Hiccup was placed in one of the vacant seats that remained and Glynda sat across from him. Hiccup then took the time to look around the table. The people sitting at the table were: Nils Anderson, Coco Adel, Velvet Scarlatina, Violet Peach, Glynda Goodwitch, Professor Port, Doctor Oobleck, Cardin Winchester and himself.

There was one seat Vacant which struck Hiccup as odd. Ten seats but only nine members present.

"Who sits over there?" Hiccup asked, looking directly at the chair that was next to Glynda, on her left.

"You'll see," Glynda replied.

As if in answer, one of the doors to the room opened, the door in question being behind Glynda opened and a familiar figure approached the table.

The figure, a girl with an axe strapped to her back wearing red clothing, sat in the only vacant chair that remained.

She looked at Hiccup and his eyes widened as he recognised her.

"Hi, Hiccup" Astrid replied, smiling. "Welcome to the newly formed Vale council."

* * *

A/N: *Runs to emergency bunker while being pelted by stones*

Ow! Ow! Ow! I'll see you all next time! *disappears inside the bunker*

AN 2: (The mousecup hunt continued)

Vala (Is busy putting a tiny pink ribbon on mousecup when Sil catches up): "Took you long enough."

Sil (Out of breath): "Give me back the mouse!"

Vala: "Uhm…. nope." (mousecup squeaks) "Why don't we play a game."

Sil: "What game?" (A suspicious glare is directed at Vala)

Vala: "The shell game of course!" (Shows a table with three large cups) "I'll use mousecup. All you have to do is find him and he's yours."

Sil: (Is still suspicious but nods)

Vala: (Shoves mousecup under one of the large cups and sings) "Round and round they go. Where the mouse ends up I don't know."

Sil: (Watches the cups with a piercing gaze and points to the centre one. It is revealed to be empty)

Vala: (Picks up the dizzy mousecup from the left cup and cackles before disappearing)  
Sil: "DAMN YOU! I WILL GET THAT MOUSE BACK!"


	16. Catching Up

A New World

Chapter 16: Catching Up

A/N: Prepare for lots of dialogue and filler everyone, although there is action involved in this chapter.

Also, the poll where you could vote for Astrid semblance is now closed. Her semblance will be Invisibility. It received 3 votes, while the other two choices both received 2 votes.

As with chapter 15, this chapter starts immediately after chapter 14.

* * *

"The new Vale council?" Hiccup asked. "What happened to the old one?"

Glynda spoke up instead of Astrid. "It's still there, this is just a local council that the main council asked me to protect Vale."

Hiccup was slightly confused. "But don't hunters and huntresses already do that?"

"They do, but this is more of an organisation designed to protect Vale from specific threats-"

"She means terrorism. The White Fang to be exact." Doctor Oobleck cut in.

Hiccup nodded slowly. "I feel there is more to it than that. The White Fang is dangerous, but not dangerous enough to have focus directed to them directly."

Glynda's face darkened. "We thought so too until they brought Grim to the Amity Colosseum where the Vytal Tournament was being held and brought it down on top of Vale," she growled.

Hiccup's eyes widened in horror. "They did that?!"

"Yes." Velvet spoke up as Glynda looked to be on the verge of destroying something or someone. "It was during a match with Pyrrha Nikos and Yang Xiao Long, who had both made it to the finals…"

* * *

The Vytal Tournament, 3 months ago:

Down in the arena of Amity Colosseum, Pyrrha is looking hesitant and distracted while Yang looked excited for her match with the Champion.

"You better not go easy on me Pyrrha," Yang replied with a grin.

"Sure," Pyrrha replied absentmindedly, not really focused on the match that was about to take place.

Yang's grin disappeared as she heard Pyrrha's reply, wondering what was wrong with the redhead. She was about to ask when Doctor Oobleck, who was commentating along with Professor Port, began to speak.

Oobleck begins counting down for the match to begin as General James Ironwood calmly sits to observe the fight, Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren cheer for their teammate while Jaune Arc simply watches anxiously as he had also noticed Pyrrha not being focused on the match, "3, 2, 1…" Oobleck leans forward. "BE- wait, what is that?"

"Is that a Grim?" Professor Port asks, leaning forward and squinting.

Pyrrha and Yang turn around when they hear this and spot the Grim, eyes widening in shock and confusion, wondering how the Grim - an Ursa - got to the arena, considering the arena was hovering above Vale.

They became even more confused when multiple Grim walked through the arena's entrance - the one Pyrrha had walked through minutes ago.

Above them, Oobleck continued to speak.

"There is more than one Grim down there. One, two, three… I-it seems we will have to put the match on hold for now." Oobleck then hurriedly whispered into his headset. "Cut the feed-" Oobleck said, in an attempt to prevent panic from spreading, but the entire arena had quieted enough in anticipation of the match and watching the Grim appear that everyone heard what was said.

As a result, the exact opposite happened - the entire audience broke into a panic as more Grim emerged and swarmed the centre of the arena, where the match had been about to take place on, heading straight for Pyrrha and Yang.

Pyrrha and Yang readied their weapons and prepared to fight the Grim, with the match now forgotten by either of them, while Atlas personnel, human and robotic alike, tried to calm down the audience and lead them away to be evacuated from the arena.

Team RWBY & JNPR were the first teams to join Pyrrha and Yang in the middle of the arena.

They arrived just in time for a group of people wearing masks that resembled the Grim - members of the White Fang - approaching from an entrance on the side of the arena that was behind Yang, an entrance that the Huntress had used minutes prior before the match had begun.

Pyrrha and Yang charged the Grim, while Weiss and Blake rushed over to engage the White Fang after collecting their weapons from the rocket-propelled lockers where they were stored. Ruby and Jaune proceeded to help Yang and Pyrrha fight the Grim, followed soon after by Ren and Nora, who were going to help Weiss and Blake but saw that the pair were handling the White Fang members well enough.

The two teams come to a halt when the whole arena rumbled and shook violently, feeling as if an explosion had taken place below their feet while the White Fang members began to retreat, their objective completed - the arena was set to fall out of the sky.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cinder, Emerald and Mercury - the latter two of which had been broken out of prison months earlier, walked towards Beacon.

"You remember the plan?" Cinder asked.

"Yes," Mercury drawled, rolling his eyes. "We did apologise for not doing what you asked." Emerald nodded in agreement with what Mercury said.

"I wouldn't be asking this if you two hadn't done something which ruined the original plan." Cinder shot back while glaring at him.

Mercury let out a groan. "We head into the nearest CCT terminal and install the virus to control Atlas's new toys while Emerald uses her semblance so we don't get seen. We then film the Amity Colosseum when our dear friend Adam Taurus and his people bring it out of the sky until you're done getting the maiden's powers before we leave. Happy now?" He said dryly

"Fine. But don't screw this up. It took a lot to convince Salem to agree to this plan and we can't fail." The trio instinctively grimaced at the punishments they had received from their boss.

They then split up and went to carry out their part of the plan, with Emerald and Mercury heading for the nearest CCT terminal and Cinder making her way to Beacon itself, or below it, to be precise.

Cinder entered Beacon, making her way inside and heading straight for a vault built underneath the school that few people knew even existed, much less knew what it contained.

After being barred from taking place in the Vytal tournament and staying at Beacon earlier in the year, so after giving Salem a report of what had happened to Emerald and Mercury - who had been arrested when the authorities had found out about their murder of Tukson - Arthur watts, a former Atlesian scientist who was now working for Salem and happened to be rather adept with computers and programming, had provided the three of them each with another (false) identity that would allow her to collect her maiden powers and Emerald and Mercury to access the CCT while Adam Taurus and the White Fang provided a distraction for the hunstmen and huntresses in training and the staff of the school.

Cinder ran over to a lift and pressed a button to call it. The doors opened moments later and she went inside before pressing the button that leads to the floor she wanted to visit. The doors closed and the lift began to descend.

The lift arrived at the Vault and the door opened. Cinder walked forward hastily, knowing that she had little time to carry out her task. She continued to move until a machine came into view. The machine consisted of a glass pod with a girl inside, unconscious, with the chamber connected to a similar pod by pipes.

Cinder took out her weapon of choice, a bow, and shot an arrow at the girl in the first pod. It pierced the glass of the pod, striking the girl in the chest and killing her quickly.

Cinder is then enveloped by an orange glow when the glass to the pod that the girl was in shattered. She begins to float in the air before descending to the ground again, now possessing the fall maidens' powers.

The new fall maiden then makes her way back to the lift, only to come face to face with Ozpin, who had been alerted when Cinder had entered the Vault.

"I see you are the new fall maiden then?" Ozpin asked, rhetorically.

"Yes"

"I see." Ozpin mused before getting into a fighting stance.

"How do you hope to beat me when I am now a maiden?" Cinder asked, genuinely confused.

"I don't need to," Ozpin said, ignoring her confused expression before he lunged at her.

Back on the gradually descending arena, the majority of citizens had been evacuated and only the Grim - mostly Ursai - remained as the White Fang had left by this point.

Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck approached team RWBY and JNPR, weapons ready, just as the last Ursa was killed.

"Students! You've been a great help, but I think it is best for you to leave now." Port said.

"But-" Ruby began

"This isn't the time to argue Ruby. This arena is slowly falling out of the sky, judging by the explosion a few minutes ago. I'd prefer that all my students lived to talk about this another day." Oobleck said, his voice offering no room for argument.

Ruby nodded, seeing his point. "Come on team! Let's get out of here"

At that point, however, the robotic soldiers that had helped to evacuate the citizens alongside the Atlesian soldiers present, suddenly turned on anyone nearby, guns raised, to the horror of anyone who noticed the scene unfold.

* * *

"Long story short, the Amity Colosseum where the tournament was taking place hit the city. It demolished buildings like Ozpin's office at the top of the CCT and the VPD headquarters." Coco cut in.

"Was anyone killed?" Hiccup asked.

"No hunstmen besides Ozpin were killed, but there were civilians who died after being trapped under rubble in their houses and a few were killed by the Atlesian Knights that started attacking people before being destroyed by the students and Atlesian soldiers," Oobleck answered.

"There were some students who got injured after dealing with the Grim that was drawn to Vale by what happened at the Amity Colosseum, however. As well as when Adam Taurus encountered Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long when they got split up while fighting the Grim in the streets of Vale." Port added

"What caused the robots to go rogue?"

"There was a virus that had infected the CCT. We heard a report from General Ironwood that his men apparently saw a girl who happened to be nude stroll into the building before the virus infected the network." Glynda stated

"Right. How did Ozpin die? Was he trapped under rubble?" Hiccup asked.

"No actually, he had left his office before the arena fell out of the sky. There were signs of an intense fight in the vault underneath the school with someone who had killed Amber and received the fall maiden powers from her."

"Hold on Glynda, should we be telling them about that?" Hiccup asked, looking at Coco, Velvet and Cardin.

"Everyone here already knows about the maidens Hiccup. Since Ozpin is dead, I thought they should know about who killed him." Glynda explained.

"Alright then. Ok, I have four more questions." Hiccup said, turning to look at Violet Peach. "The first one is one I want you to answer."

"Alright," Violet said. "Ask away."

"What happened to Blake and Yang? What happened to them?"

"Ah. That is something we left out." Violet let out a long sigh as Hiccup looked at her expectantly. "You'll need to ask them yourself. It's not something I think I should tell you Hiccup."

"Ok then." Hiccup made a mental note to find Blake later and find out what Violet had refused to tell him about.

Hiccup turned to face Glynda next. "Right. My next question is since Ozpin is" Hiccup paused while searching for the right word."…unavailable right now, what happens to his seat on the Vale council?"

"Well, we voted that you would get it Hiccup," Glynda said

"Really? Why not Qrow or you? Why didn't you take the seat?"

"Well if I took it then I would always be reminded of Ozpin being gone. And do you really feel it would be a good idea to put Qrow on the Vale council?"

"No," Hiccup said carefully, grimacing at the idea of letting Qrow decide council matters. He could more easily picture him flirting with a woman at a bar, at least from the stories Yang and Ruby had told him of their uncle in the past whenever Hiccup was allowed to visit them at their home in patch.

This was usually whenever there was a semester break at Beacon and Ozpin gave him a break from training as the Headmaster travelled home for his own break.

Hiccup nodded reluctantly at Glynda's answer before looking at Astrid next. "Ok. Next question. Where was Astrid during the tournament?"

"What do you mean?" The girl in question asked.

"Before the explosion in my forge, Ozpin considered the idea of making you the leader of team JNPR, as Jaune Arc had been expelled from Beacon due to forged transcripts. Jaune was okay with the idea along with Ren although I don't know about Pyrrha and Nora's opinions on this." Hiccup explained

"Now, were you picked as the team leader and if so, where were you during the tournament?"

"I wasn't picked as the team leader," Astrid said simply. "I was watching the tournament with Ruby and Jaune and the rest of his team. Hiccup had his doubts about that as Velvet hadn't mentioned Astrid during the tournament. Hiccup made a mental note to find out where she really was during the tournament when they were alone before deciding move on to his last question.

"Ok. Last question. What happens now? I mean, do we simply find Adam? Do we capture him or kill him when we find him? And what happens when we've dealt with him and the White Fang?"

"The Vale council doesn't care whether he is captured or killed. They simply want him and the White Fang dealt with, for them to not be a threat to Vale. Afterwards, I guess we continue on as normal, whatever that is now." Glynda answered.

"Alright enough morbid talk. Let's move onto something more cheerful." Astrid said before whistling.

Hiccup wondered why she was whistling for until the answer came bounding through the door behind her.

Toothless entered the room and looked around before making a beeline for Hiccup as soon as the dragon spotted him.

"Toothless" Hiccup shouted up as he stood up immediately, forgetting for a moment that he had lost most of his left leg and practically leapt at Toothless when he approached, wrapping his arms around the dragon in a tight embrace while the dragon crooned happily at seeing his human after a year.

"I've missed you bud." Hiccup said, his voice wavering as he began to cry tears of joy.

Hiccup separated from Toothless a few minutes later and turned his attention back to the other people present while wiping his eyes of tears. Astrid was grinning from ear to ear at the affection displayed between the two.

"How did you-"

"Find him?" Violet guessed. Hiccup nodded and she smiled. "You do remember Faunus First right? I asked an agent of mine to keep an eye on you. Fortunately for you, the agent in question saw the explosion take place and managed to keep Toothless hidden."

"Ok. At least I don't have to tell everyone here about Toothless again." Hiccup said, letting out a long sigh of relief.

"Getting back on track." Nils Anderson said, speaking up for the first time during the long conversation had begun. "How do we begin our search? We don't have any idea of a White Fang base where Adam could be hiding. How will we find him?"

"I have two people who might know where to find him. Or at least know where he could be."

"Really?" Nils asked. "Who?"

"I'd rather not tell you until I have a lead. They might not know anything but one of them is likely to be paranoid around the police." Hiccup replied.

"Alright then." Nils relented

"Now Glynda, can you help me get back to that car?"

* * *

Glynda drove Hiccup to the address where she was told the first person he was going to ask for information on Adam's location would be.

She frowned as she drove into the shadier part of Vale.

"Are you sure we're heading the right way?" Glynda asked, looking over at Hiccup.

"Yes. I did say that the person in question was nervous around the police."

"It's Junior isn't it?" she said dryly and groaned when Hiccup remained silent, confirming her guess to be correct.

"Just, try not to beat him up. The last time that happened, his bar was destroyed for quite a while. I'd rather not have to pay for that again."

"You really think I could do that?" she asked Hiccup.

Hiccup turned to her with a deadpan look. "You are aware I could see you hitting a bullhead with pieces of rubble using your semblance when Ruby Rose joined Beacon right? You could practically tear the building in half with your semblance. Forgive me if I'm sceptical of your abilities."

"I'll try to restrain myself." she quipped and smirked when Hiccup laughed before the car became silent again while they drove on.

They arrived at the bar and Glynda brought the car to a stop outside. She turned to Hiccup. "Want to stay here or go inside?" she asked.

"I want to go inside. Seeing me after a year might scare him into telling us what we want to know." Hiccup replied and Glynda laughed at the idea.

"Ok then." she climbed out of the car and walked around to the passenger door before opening it. She then helped Hiccup up and they walked to the building, arms interlocked in a firm grip to help Hiccup walk.

Junior looked up and froze in shock at the sight of Hiccup - who he hadn't seen in a year and had assumed had died - approaching the bar with half of his left foot missing while being supported by the tall blonde huntress that was accompanying him, who he recognised as Glynda Goodwitch, one of the strongest Huntresses in Vale.

Junior immediately decided to tell them whatever they wanted to know, as he knew he had no chance against Glynda in a fight, especially since he had been beaten by a girl less than half her age while armed with his weapon. Right now, he didn't have it with him as he had left it upstairs in his apartment, not that it would have mattered anyway.

He forced a smile onto his face to try and hide how nervous he felt before greeting the pair. "Hello, again Hiccup." He grit out as Hiccup sat down on one of the stools placed against the bar with some difficulty. "This is a strange occurrence. Are you sure I'm not dreaming?" He paused and pinched himself to make sure.

"No. You're not dreaming. I was in a coma for a year and missed out on some of the fun." Junior saw Glynda scowl before her expression turned back to neutral as she appeared to realise that Hiccup was trying to lighten the mood somewhat. It put Junior slightly more at ease, although he didn't dare lower his guard.

"What do you want to know?" Junior asked.

"I want to know where Adam Taurus could be." Hiccup answered and Junior became as tense as he was when he noticed them approaching him.

"You want to capture him" Junior stated, filling in the blanks.

Hiccup nodded. "I'm sure you've heard about the Vale council's plan to have Glynda here form an anti-terrorism force of sorts, given recent events."

He nodded, tensing even further which didn't escape Hiccup's notice. "I have. But unfortunately, nobody wants anything to do with the White Fang anymore, and the White Fang has been rather quiet themselves." Junior replied, deciding not to mention his deal with Adam.

"Really?" Hiccup queried and saw Junior nod. "Well, I'll guess we'll leave now. Come on Glynda." Hiccup turned to the huntress who had remained standing during the conversation between Hiccup and Junior.

The pair left the building and Junior took out his scroll as soon as he left and dialled a number.

"They were here," Junior said when the line connected. "Seems Hiccup didn't die Adam." Junior teased before becoming serious when he heard Adam's reply.

"Really? Well, I hope you succeed this time or he will be coming for me next." Junior replied before hanging up and turning to his nieces, the Malachite twins, when he heard the click of high heels, announcing their presence.

"Get packed up," Junior told them. "We might need to leave."

"Why?" they asked in unison.

"Because someone dangerous might try to kill me if I'm unlucky."

"Like that blond haired girl who destroyed the bar?" Melanie, one of the twins asked

"Most likely worse. This person works with Glynda." The girls both paled when they heard that, as Glynda was well known.

"This is because of Adam isn't it?" Miltia, the sister to Melanie asked.

"Yup" He replied.

"We still think you shouldn't have agreed to work with him when he came here," Melanie said before they both left Junior and headed upstairs.

"So do I," Junior muttered to himself when they had left. "So do I" Junior knew he had sealed his fate by betting on the idea that Hiccup had died. Now, however, it seemed that decision had not been a wise one.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Glynda were travelling back to Beacon. Glynda glanced at Hiccup. "What now? It seems like your first source of information doesn't know where Adam is."

"I'd usually agree with you. If he hadn't tensed when I mentioned the Vale council's plan to fight terrorism. He knows something that he doesn't want us to know. I wouldn't be surprised if a White Fang group shows up looking for me."

"Why would they be looking for you?"

"Because right now I'm the weakest of the group. I haven't fought in a year and I've lost a limb. If they fought any of the rest of the students, they would likely lose, especially if you or Professor Port or Oobleck helped."

"So what are you going to do?"

"The only thing I really can. I need to leave Vale and get a prosthetic leg. Atlas is a good place to go."

"You've been out of a coma for less than a day and you want to travel all the way to Atlas?" she asked, gazing at him incredulously.

"Only until I get used to walking with a prosthetic and I'm used to fighting again. Come on Glynda, I go there and I can kill two birds with one stone." Hiccup pleaded.

Glynda let out a long exasperated sigh after a few moments. "Fine, I'll talk to General Ironwood. But I expect you to come back to Vale as soon as you can." Glynda said.

Hiccup nodded eagerly. "Of course." He promised before the car fell silent again as they drove on, heading for Beacon once more.

To Be Continued…

* * *

A/N: I hope this chapter of filler explained the important stuff that happened while Hiccup was in a coma and it all made sense. If not, well, at least you all got to see Toothless again. Until next time. Silvolde.

* * *

A/N 2: (The mousecup hunt conclusion)

Sil: (Is out of breath when he finally catches up to Vala and the squirming mousecup) "Take the mousecup out of your bosom!"

Vala: "Hey, that is one lucky mouse right there!" (mousecup squeaks not feeling so lucky)

Sil: "PLEASE! PLEASE! JUST GIVE ME THE MOUSE BACK! STOP TRAUMATIZING THE VIKING!"

Vala: (Looks at Sil, then at the mouse, then back at Sil) "Uhm….. Okay"

Sil: (Head snaps up) "Wait…. Just like that?! You're just giving him back?"

Vala: "Well sure."

Sil: "Who are you and what have you done to the real Vala!"

Vala: (Rolls eyes)

Sil: "I mean it! I came here packing firepower and you are just giving me the mouse now?!"

Vala: "Well yeah!"

Sil: (-_-)

Vala: "Well if you don't want him." (mousecup squeaks)

Sil: "I want him! I want him! Wait how did you get in this story anyway?"

Vala: "I have my secrets." (Winks at the audience and then vanishes leaving a traumatized mousecup behind)

Sil: (Looks at mousecup) "Well… that wasn't so bad. Just imagine if it was a certain blonde Shieldmaiden finding out your secret." (mousecup proceeds to sway and then faint) "NOOOOOOOOOOO!"


	17. Welcome To Atlas

A New World

Chapter 17: Welcome to Atlas

A/N: So what do I have planned this chapter? A member of the White Fang shows up, a rather cold kingdom known as Atlas, which happens to be the home of Weiss Schnee and her family and Hiccup, who is going to travel to said kingdom to get a prosthetic leg.

* * *

Glynda and Hiccup returned to the room at Beacon where Hiccup had caught up in the time since the explosion at his forge.

Hiccup was back in his wheelchair and Glynda helped him into the room and brought him to a stop near the table in the room before she told Hiccup's plan to leave Vale for Atlas to the seven other members of the team.

"I also want Astrid and Toothless to come with me to Atlas," Hiccup added after Glynda had told everyone about his plan. She nodded and left the room to call General Ironwood and make arrangements for Hiccup's trip.

As soon as Glynda left the room, the room fell into an uproar, with everyone besides Cardin talking at once.

"Why do you want to go there?" Velvet asked

"Don't go there without winter clothing!" Violet said in a motherly tone, something Hiccup didn't expect from her.

"Shouldn't you talk to the other students to let them know you're out of your coma?" Oobleck asked

"Guys…" Hiccup began but was ignored by everyone at the table

"Don't forget to bring your weapons with you Hiccup" Port said.

"What about finding Adam and dealing with the White Fang?" Coco asked.

"Guys…" Hiccup tried again but was once more cut off. He became more frustrated as a result and his hands started to sparkle with electricity visibly jumping between his fingers.

"What about Blake and Yang? Shouldn't you go find out what happened to them?" Velvet asked

"Or Jaune and the rest of his team?" Astrid added

Cardin then cut in with a comment. "Why did Glynda decide to give you a seat on the council if you are just going to leave Vale?"

Hiccup's finally snapped after being ignored and when he heard the comment from Cardin in particular.

"Enough!" he shouted, in order to be heard by everyone present. The entire room became silent instantly as every person at the table could see Hiccup's semblance in action.

Hiccup calmed down a little bit when the room became quiet.

Hiccup then looked at his hands and saw the electricity that was still moving between his fingers. "I did not know I could do that." He muttered to himself before looking up.

"You simply had to ask to find out why I want to travel to Atlas. But ignoring and cutting me off doesn't help anyone and it only takes longer for you all to hear the reason for anything I say or plan to do." Hiccup said.

Everyone at the table looked apologetic - Astrid most of all, who remembered what his life pre-dragon training was like, with Hiccup being ignored or talked over most of the time - until Oobleck leaned forward and spoke up.

"Why do you want to go to Atlas?" he asked curiously and every eye turned to Hiccup.

"I want to go to Atlas simply because right now, I'm the most vulnerable out of everyone here." Hiccup glanced at his missing limb. "I'm sure you know the reason for that." Hiccup said and everyone nodded. "The other reason for that is because I believe an informant of mine has been…recruited to work for Adam now. It is likely I may be attacked soon, and I can't fight very well without my leg."

"So I'm assuming you're going to Atlas to avoid any White Fang members that are sent after you and to get a prosthetic leg?" Port asked to clarify and Hiccup nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, and also to get used to using the leg once I've got it."

"Alright. But I still think you should tell Team RWBY & JNPR the news. They came to see you every day that they didn't have a match in the Vytal festival. At least until the Amity Colosseum was destroyed." Oobleck added.

"I think it would be best if I wait for my prosthetic leg first though." Hiccup countered. "They'd likely not believe a call or text from someone who was in a coma the last time they checked. For that reason, I'd like to visit them in person. Don't you all agree?"

"It's really up to you, just don't take too long to visit them," Port replied.

Glynda returned to the room at this point, before anything else could be said.

"General Ironwood has agreed to let you travel to Atlas and receive a prosthetic leg, Hiccup. We'll just need to find an airship willing to transport Toothless there." Glynda said, looking at him.

Hiccup was confused, however. "Why do I need his permission to visit?" He wondered.

Violet spoke up before Glynda could reply.

"It's because of those robots of theirs that went rogue during the festival. Production has stopped, with each robot that was already built being brought back to Atlas and destroyed." Violet said.

"So they've closed the border, they're breaking those robots and stopped dust exports I assume." Hiccup stated

"Correct." Oobleck nodded.

"Why did they do that? Sounds like Ironwood is quite paranoid about those robots."

"It might sound like that, but Ironwood was against closing the border. He was outvoted, however." Glynda replied.

Hiccup sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. "More council members making stupid decisions. Just great." He deadpanned. "Well, I guess we should get Toothless packed up for the trip."

* * *

The door that was behind Hiccup thrown open suddenly and a single White Fang member entered the room before both groups froze on the spot, the Faunus was clearly not expecting to see so many huntsmen and huntresses present in the room and the huntsmen and huntresses were confused as to why only one White Fang member appeared.

The White Fang member in question has a ponytail that was curled to look like a chameleon tail and spots on both arms and legs. The person also had a whip-like weapon attached to their hip.

After breaking out of her reverie, Glynda immediately approached the Faunus in question who attempted to run away after recognizing Glynda.

The Faunus didn't even make it to the door before being lifted into the air by Glynda's semblance and being prevented from moving any further.

Glynda placed the Faunus near Professor Port, who grabbed both arms and held the Faunus in place, as the Faunus tried to escape to no avail.

Hiccup then approached the Faunus in his wheelchair and took off the Faunus mask the person was wearing.

"Hello."

"Hi," the Faunus said defensively. The person in question turned out to be a girl with brown hair and blue eyes as well as spots that matched the ones on her arms and legs.

"What's your name?"

The Faunus girl bristled. "Why do you want to know my name?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Not this song and dance again." He muttered under his breath, quietly enough that the Faunus girl didn't hear him.

"I want to know your name because I don't know what to call you, and calling you 'the Faunus girl' in my head doesn't seem very nice don't you think? "

She glared at him. "What would a human know about being nice?" she spat.

"More than the White Fang it seems. I didn't drop an arena on top of a Faunus settlement like what you did with Vale, did I?"

"My name is Ilia," Ilia said after a few moments. "The humans deserved what they got."

"Even if there were Faunus living in the houses that were destroyed when the Amity Colosseum fell out of the sky?" Hiccup said pointedly.

"Yes. They were traitors then." Ilia replied, although she sounded unsure of herself.

"What do you say Velvet and Violet?" Hiccup asked, looking at them. Ilia also looked and was surprised to see two rabbit Faunus in the room, who she hadn't looked too closely at until now. "Do you agree with what Ilia here thinks?"

They both shook their heads in disagreement and Hiccup looked at Ilia again with a victorious smile, ignoring the glare sent his way.

"Now, I'm wondering why Adam only sent you to find me. Why is that?"

"Junior told Adam about you. He said you came to him alone. He didn't mention Glynda Goodwitch over there." Ilia nodded at the blonde Huntress.

"Seems Junior lied to you." Hiccup mused.

Hiccup then turned his wheelchair around and began to move away, heading for the second door in the room. "I'd like to speak with you Glynda."

"Nils as well. The rest of you keep an eye on her." Hiccup added without turning around and stopping in front of the door.

* * *

Glynda approached and moved Hiccup aside before opening the door and pushing Hiccup through, with Nils following closely behind.

"I have to say. You act quite well to be a leader. Did you get secret training somewhere?" Nils asked teasingly when the door had closed behind them.

"I agree with the police chief here. You certainly do well. You listen to everyone and so far, you work hard." Glynda complimented him.

Hiccup blushed, not used to compliments like that. "I don't know if I'm that good but I would be starting to learn how to act as the chief by now if I was still living at home."

"That's another thing I've wondered. Where is home sweet home? Also, what are your parents like? I don't think you've ever mentioned them."

"You're only now asking what my home is like? I would have thought you would have asked that by now, especially after seeing Toothless earlier. Anyway, my dad is big. Imagine someone the size of Ruby and compare that person to Ghira Belladonna. That would give you some idea of his size, although my dad is bigger."

"As for my home. Picture an island that hails three months straight and snows for the rest of the year. The bottom line is that it is **cold**." Hiccup said, subconsciously rubbing his arms as if cold while putting emphasis on the word and Glynda and Nils both chuckled at his answer.

"On an unrelated note, what happened to that orphan boy who could create portals?" Hiccup asked Nils. "Are there even any orphanages being run right now?" Hiccup asked.

"I don't know," Nils said, responding quickly which made Hiccup and Glynda suspicious that he was hiding something

"Nils," Hiccup said warningly. "Where is he right now?"

Nils eventually caved a few minutes later. "I adopted him! You happy now?"

"Why keep that a secret? There's nothing wrong with that is there?" Hiccup asked before looking at Glynda who shook her head, confirming his thoughts.

"There would be nothing wrong with it if I had done it like I was supposed to. Nobody besides you two know I'm living with him." Nils admitted in shame.

"Well legally speaking, Velvet, Coco, Cardin and I aren't meant to be working here as neither of us have graduated from Beacon, or any other huntsmen academy so we're in as much trouble as you, if not more."

"The worse that will happen to you in a situation like that is the boy is relocated elsewhere. If the council were to find out that I was working as a full-time huntsman without graduating, then I would be arrested." Hiccup pointed out. "Besides, why does it matter right now? I'm sure the Vale council or whoever's job it is to take care of that sort of stuff has more important things to deal with."

"Good point." Nils conceded

"What are we going to do with Ilia?" Hiccup asked, drawing their attention to the Faunus girl and the reason he had wanted to talk to them in the first place.

"I think we should let her go. Keeping her here will only ensure more White Fang members will show up." Glynda suggested.

"I agree," Nils said. "Let's do that."

Hiccup nodded before proceeding to move forward before Glynda pushed him along, back into the other room.

* * *

At the same time the conversation between Hiccup, Glynda and Nils is taking place, a bullhead landed in Vale and Ruby, Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren and Nora stepped off. Each person in the group thanked the pilot, who nodded and took off moments later, leaving the group of five in Vale.

"Here we are again." Jaune sighed as they began to walk forward.

"Think it will be any different this time?" Pyrrha wondered.

"It's likely to be the same as before. I mean Hiccup has been in a coma for a year." Ruby said, her voice lacking its usual energy and happiness typical for the now sixteen-year-old girl.

The four other members of the group each exchanged worried glances before Jaune spoke up hesitantly.

"Are you ok Ruby?" he said

"Yes. I'm fine." Ruby replied, her tone still unhappy but now with an unmistakable edge present.

"It's just that, you've been unhappy ever since patch," Jaune responded, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." she lied and instantly regretted it as Jaune's expression turned to one filled with hurt before becoming neutral once more.

"Well don't forget that you can tell us we're your friends after all." Ren added before all conversation ground to a halt, which only made Ruby feel worse.

They continued to walk and eventually, the five of them could see their destination in front of them. They were heading for the hospital where Hiccup had been brought to and had been in a coma the last time they had come to see him three months ago.

They entered the building and made their way to the nearest lift, taking a ride to the third floor of the hospital. The five arrived at the floor and left the lift before walking along a hallway and entering one of the rooms.

They entered the room and looked around but found no sign of Hiccup.

"He's gone?" Pyrrha asked no one in particular.

They each heard a person cough and team JNPR along with Ruby turned around to look at a nurse who was standing in the doorway.

"Can I help you?" the nurse asked.

"We're looking for a friend of ours. He was in a coma and had lost his leg" Jaune said, "Do you know where he could be?"

"Did he have auburn hair?" the nurse asked.

"Yes."

"Yes, I remember him. A friend of mine who works here said he was discharged by Glynda Goodwitch."

"Professor Goodwitch?!" Jaune exclaimed in surprise, while everyone else looked equally surprised by the news.

"Ah. You were all Beacon students then? Such a shame what happened to that fancy arena." The nurse said and sighed when she noticed the sad expressions that formed on the faces of the former students.

"Sorry if I brought up some bad memories." the nurse said apologetically. "I'll leave you all alone now," she said before leaving quickly.

"Where do you think he could be right now?" Nora wondered.

"I don't think anyone knows that Nora. He could be anywhere." Jaune replied.

"Maybe we could look around Beacon. I mean most of it was left intact when the Amity Colosseum was destroyed." Ren pointed out.

Seeing as no one in the group had any better ideas, they decided to head over there.

* * *

By now, Hiccup, Glynda and Nils had entered the room where Ilia was being held in place by Professor Port. Hiccup approached Ilia, who wondered what he was going to say next.

"We will let you go free if you do one thing-"

"You're letting her go free?!" Cardin shouted, directing an incredulous look at Hiccup. "She's a member of the White Fang! She's likely killed, people."

"She may have," Hiccup agreed. "But we can't keep her here. If Adam is anything like he was a year ago, then he will send people to bring her back and that will get annoying. Besides, she will prove to be a rather useful messenger" Hiccup replied.

Cardin didn't seem very convinced by Hiccup's answer, but stopped talking and instead decided to glare at Ilia. She ignored him and instead looked at Hiccup.

"Why do you want me to do?" Ilia wondered.

"I'd like you to tell Adam that I wish to propose a truce with him and the White Fang. It's clear that the White Fang is well equipped. They have more resources than we do and they basically have Vale in their control."

"Now since the Vale Council want Glynda to run an anti-terrorist organization, we pose a threat to him, albeit a very small one. I suggest that he gives us time because right now, it would be too easy for him to win. He likes challenges right? So let's give him one. Let's fight on more equal footing."

Ilia glared at him. "The White Fang doesn't make deals with humans."

"Oh really? That's funny because I remember Roman Torchwick and the White Fang stealing dust from a cargo ship a while ago. It didn't go very well, as a few huntsmen and huntresses in training stopped him."

"How do you know about that?" Ilia hissed.

"Simple, I was there." Hiccup said dryly. "Now, do we have a deal?" Hiccup held out a hand to her.

Ilia looked at his hand as if it was the vilest thing in all of Remnant before lightly grasping his hand and giving it a very brief shake.

Hiccup then stared at Professor Port. "Let her go."

Once out of the huntsman's grip, she looked ready to run to the door but Hiccup's next words stopped her. "Don't you want your mask back?" Hiccup asked, holding out the mask.

Ilia took back the mask and was gone.

"I agree with your decision to let her go, but what will stop Adam from simply sending other White Fang members?" Oobleck asked.

"Nothing."

"Then you have no plan?"

"I didn't say that. I can't stop Adam from sending other people, but we can make it difficult for them to find me by heading to Atlas as soon as possible, preferably today."

"It will certainly take a while to find an Airship pilot willing to bring Toothless along with you. If there are any that will do that." Glynda pointed out

"Then I might have to leave him here." Hiccup said and an unhappy noise was heard from the corner of the room where Toothless had been sleeping the whole time. The now awake dragon was looking at Hiccup with a downcast expression.

"Oh don't be so dramatic you overgrown salamander! You managed to handle me being gone for a year. You can handle a few days." Hiccup said, although his tone indicated he was teasing the dragon.

"Any idea how we can transport Toothless? I can't fly him and walking would take a while." Hiccup asked Glynda.

"I have an idea, that may mean you won't leave Toothless behind. I'll be back soon." Glynda said before exiting the room.

"Anyone know what her idea is?" Hiccup asked the seven other people present in the room. Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck both smirked knowingly.

"I think you'll like the idea," Oobleck said simply, leaving Hiccup even more confused.

* * *

Glynda returned around thirty minutes later accompanied by five individuals that Hiccup was surprised to see, and was surprised to see him as well.

"Hey, Jauney boy!" Cardin said, breaking the group out of their stupor.

"Oh great," Hiccup said mentally. "This won't end well."

To Hiccup's surprise, Jaune simply smiled and waved.

"Hey, Cardin" Jaune said.

Hiccup gaped. "Is there something I missed? I want to know when that happened" Hiccup said, pointing at Jaune and Cardin and barely believing his eyes.

"I mean, I know that you stopped bullying Jaune, Cardin. But when did you become friends?" Hiccup asked

"He saved my life when I was cornered by those Atlesian Knight robots" Cardin explained.

"Oh, he does have a heart" Hiccup teased.

"Shut up Hiccup" Cardin grumbled while everyone else laughed.

Hiccup then looked at the rest of team JNPR, and Ruby, who was also there. "How have you all been?" he asked

At this, Ruby didn't hesitate to rush over using her semblance and tackle Hiccup, giving him a hug.

"Hi Hiccup!" she practically squealed, her voice happy again unlike earlier, which brought a smile to the members of team JNPR. "Hello," Hiccup said awkwardly, rubbing her back. "Not that this is a problem, but why the sudden affection? I haven't seen you act like this to anyone besides your uncle," he said softly

"It's about Yang" Ruby revealed. "She's been moody lately."

"What about?" Hiccup asked

"About her arm, and Blake. We haven't seen her since she fought Adam when we escaped to Vale during the Vytal Tournament."

"You mentioned something happened to her arm. What happened to it?"

Ruby looked nervous before she leaned forward and whispered into his ear before leaning back again, moments later.

"Can you do that?" Ruby asked.

"I will. I promise." Hiccup replied

"Do what?" Glynda asked, confused.

Ruby made a 'shushing' motion with a finger and Hiccup smiled. "Sorry Glynda, but I don't think I'm allowed to tell."

Glynda rolled her eyes although she was smiling. "Very well, I've brought a bullhead nearby. We can bring your dragon along while we find an airship willing to travel to Atlas."

Ruby and team JNPR's mouths hit the floor. "You're going to Atlas?" Ruby asked, after overcoming her surprise once again.

Hiccup nodded. "But we just got here! We haven't seen you in a year! And now you're leaving again!" Jaune shouted indignantly.

"You could just come with me" Hiccup pointed out. "No need to overreact Jaune." Hiccup then rolled his eyes.

"Can we really?" Ruby asked, and squealed when Glynda nodded.

"Only if your parents know about and are okay with the idea, however," Glynda added, but Ruby didn't seem worried as she continued to squeal.

"Yay! We get to see Weiss again!"

"You know, since you're all coming, I expect to hear what you've all been up to."

"That's going to be a long story," Jaune said.

"Well it's around eight hours to Atlas, so you'll all have plenty of time to talk" Glynda stated.

* * *

8 hours later.

Hiccup was awoken by Toothless when the dragon decided to lick him.

"Ugh, Toothless! You know that doesn't wash out!" Hiccup stated in disgust while frantically wiping the saliva off of his face.

He paused when he heard giggling nearby and sighed. "You think this is funny Milady?" he asked before flicking saliva in Astrid's direction, while at the same time ignoring the laughing from the five others that had joined them for the journey.

She avoided it but continued laughing. "The pilot said we're almost at Atlas now. It's why I told Toothless to wake you up. You should get ready." Astrid said when she had finished laughing. She then held out a hand so he could stand up, while her other hand was holding a set of crutches that Glynda had given Hiccup so he could walk on his own.

Hiccup wiped the saliva that remained on his face, away before accepting Astrid's outstretched hand and proceeded to pull himself upright.

The airship that they were in landed and the door opened automatically to reveal a rather white landscape that was as cold as Hiccup remembered Berk to be. Fortunately, Glynda hadn't let any of them leave Vale without suitable clothing for visiting Atlas. Hiccup made a mental note to thank her when he returned.

"There we are. Home sweet home." The pilot commented as he approached them after leaving the cockpit.

"How do you get used to the cold? I've been in cold places before but this is in a league of its own."

"I guess I'm lucky, can't really handle hot places." The pilot said with a shrug before walking through the open door in front of them. "Follow me. I'll take you to General Ironwood." He said, turning back to them before sending a wary glance in Toothless' direction and walking forward.

"Ladies first." Hiccup said while shivering despite the large coat that he was wearing.

Astrid passed Hiccup a set of crutches provided by Glynda before she walked through the door and Hiccup and Toothless followed close behind. Team JNPR and Ruby followed Hiccup, Astrid and Toothless and the pilot of the airship across the snowy landscape with no sounds being heard beside their own footsteps.

The large group eventually ended up approaching a square concrete building. They passed through a set of double doors to see General Ironwood and a shorter man wearing a white lab coat sitting at a table near the entrance. Ironwood immediately stood up when he saw them approaching, while the other man remained sitting, seeing to not be bothered by the visitors, although he did turn to look at them.

The pilot then decided to leave, while being cautious and giving Toothless a wide berth.

"Welcome to Atlas," Ironwood greeted. Unlike the pilot, he didn't seem nervous about Toothless. Hiccup assumed it was due to the fact none of them had been attacked by the dragon. "How are you enjoying your visit so far?"

"It's cold," Hiccup deadpanned, earning a chuckle from Ironwood and the man who was still sitting.

"I like him! Tell me, what is your name?" The man asked Hiccup.

"Hiccup. I used to work at Beacon."

"Ah! You're the one who Glynda told the General about. You're here to receive a prosthetic leg."

"Hold on Arthur. We should show our guests where they will be staying," Ironwood said.

"Of course. Of course. Ah, where are my manners? I am Arthur Polendina, one of Atlas' best scientists," the man introduced himself.

"Polendina?" Ruby asked before she gasped. "Penny's last name was Polendina! You're her father!" Ruby exclaimed gleefully.

"Ah! You're Ruby Rose! Penny mentioned you!" He strode forward and grasped her hand before giving it a firm shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you!" He said with a smile before letting go of her hand.

Arthur then started walking. "Follow me. I'd like you to meet her again. She would be delighted to see you." he said and the pair walked off, seeming to forget about the other people present.

Hiccup chuckled. "Does that happen often?"

Ironwood sighed. "More than I'd like. Come on. I'll take you to where you're staying. They'll catch up later."

Team JNPR, Hiccup, Astrid and Toothless then began to follow General Ironwood as he lead them away.

To Be Continued…

* * *

A/N: Another chapter done! Whew! The next time we see Hiccup, he will have his prosthetic leg fitted and according to a friend of mine, the operation takes a full day, followed by 8 hours of rest afterwards. So the next chapter will focus on other characters in the story before Hiccup becomes the focus again. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

Silvolde.

Beta Reader: *sneaks around in the background and darkness*


	18. Hiccstrid?

A New World

Chapter 18: Hiccstrid?

A/N: Welcome everyone to 2019! I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and New year. Here I am with another chapter.

There was a change of plans from what I had originally planned this chapter. Also, I should announce the new planned schedule.

All updates to this story after this chapter will take place every two weeks so I can have a backlog and hopefully finish writing the story soon. I'm not sure if I will be able to stick to the schedule but we shall see.

My other story, From The Shadows, will be updated once a month from now on for the same reason. This should be easier to handle but it could go wrong as well.

There will a lot of things happening in this chapter so I've included a list of the important stuff at the end of the chapter.

Not much else to say here that won't give away what will happen this chapter, so enjoy!

* * *

Ironwood brought the people who were left to Atlas Academy. He told them that since Atlas academy was currently in the middle of a semester, most of the dorm rooms at the school were being used. He did, however, state that some rooms were unoccupied. He then showed the Huntsmen and Huntresses the rooms where they would be assigned to stay in during their time in Atlas.

Astrid, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ruby were going to be staying in one room while Hiccup, Jaune and Ren were staying in another room with Toothless. The rooms in question just so happened to be directly across the hall from each other.

Ironwood then left the group, letting them look around the rooms they had been given.

Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, Jaune and Toothless all entered their given rooms and Hiccup was about to follow suit after the dragon when he noticed Astrid was watching him intently.

"What?" Hiccup asked her.

"We need to talk," she replied

"Alright then, one moment." Hiccup walked over to the doorway of the room Jaune and Ren had been assigned. He saw Toothless curled up in the corner of the room to sleep.

"I'll be back in a few minutes." Hiccup said and walked away using his crutches when he saw them both nod in reply.

"I'm assuming you don't want to be heard talking by anyone but me Milady, so lead the way." Hiccup said, now facing her again.

Astrid nodded in reply and started walking forward at a pace that let Hiccup keep up.

She looked for an empty room as she walked along the hallway and entered the first empty room she found, with Hiccup trailing close behind her.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Hiccup asked.

"Ruby," Astrid replied.

"What about Ruby?" Hiccup asked, confused by the sudden question.

"What was that about before we left Vale to come here?"

Hiccup thought about what she meant before it came to him.

"You're upset about Ruby giving me a hug weren't you?"

"It wasn't just a hug," Astrid protested. "She jumped on your lap."

Hiccup gave a mock gasp. "Could it be…the great Astrid Hofferson…is jealous?" He teased and Astrid glared at him.

"Why are you not bothered by that?"

"I'll list you three reasons. One, Ruby is more interested in weapons, particularly her scythe than she is in dating. That is to say, she has shown no interested in dating boys at all, from what I remember at least. Two, she is usually playful like that and she means nothing by it. Three, I have eyes for someone else."

Astrid couldn't help being curious as to who he meant while feeling slightly surprised when a wave of disappointment washed over her at the same time.

"Who?"

"Hmm?"

"Who do you have eyes for?"

"You." Hiccup said, before closing the distance, leaving a breath of space for a second before leaning in and capturing Astrid's lips with his own. Hiccup held the kiss until he needed to separate for air.

"W-Why kiss me now?" Astrid asked, breathless from the kiss she had just received.

"I've always loved you, Astrid, even before I left Berk. I've been wanting to kiss you for years. Now since I lost a leg in that explosion, I've realized that I'm not as… safe as I thought I was. So I figured I shouldn't wait any longer to make my feelings known."

Astrid was taken aback by the admission. "You…love me?" she said, as her heart raced in her chest.

"Yes. I do believe I just said that." Hiccup replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

The corner of Astrid's mouth twitched as a smile threatened to form on her face. Despite this, she punched his right arm.

"You know I hate it when you do that," Astrid said afterwards.

"Oh, of course. That's why you almost smiled because you hate it when I'm sarcastic." He deadpanned and Astrid gave him a playful shove.

"Shut up." She then paused. "What do we do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean." She paused and gestured at herself and Hiccup. "What are we?"

"I mean, I guess we are boyfriend and girlfriend now," Astrid smiled at his answer.

"Well that answers one of my questions, but do we tell everyone else about this?"

"No. Unless you want to tell them about it of course."

"I don't know. I'm new to this stuff."

"Well don't feel alone Astrid. I haven't dated anyone here before either."

"That's good then, I guess, we can learn together" She mused.

"Agreed. There is something else I want to ask you, Astrid."

"What is it?"

"Back when Velvet told me what happened during the tournament, she didn't mention you being there."

Astrid sighed. "Hiccup-"

"I know you said you weren't made team leader of team JNPR, but that doesn't explain you surviving the Amity Colosseum crashing into Vale and coming out unscathed, particularly when you were in a cell at the VPD headquarters. The building was damaged and the roof was almost completely caved in when Glynda showed me it."

"So how did you escape that?" Hiccup asked, looking at her expectantly.

"I can't tell you that Hiccup. Trust me, you don't want to know." Astrid pleaded

Hiccup sighed. "What are you hiding that you don't want me to know?"

"I can't tell you" she repeated.

Hiccup looked away. "Fine. I see how it is. Maybe it was a mistake to confess to you." he mused and missed it when Astrid's eyes were filled with sorrow. "Let's go back to our rooms before everyone else starts to wonder where we are," he said, missing Astrid's sad expression as he was looking away.

Hiccup left the room first and almost bumped into Jaune and Pyrrha as he stepped into the corridor.

"We were just looking for you Hiccup," Pyrrha said before glancing at Astrid. She noticed that Astrid was sad but made no comment on her expression. "Can we talk with you two right now?"

"Sure, I guess" Hiccup shrugged.

"Come on then," Jaune said. "We'll talk in our room. Ren and Nora are away looking for pancakes." He added as he and Pyrrha walked away.

"Should we wait for Ruby as well?" Hiccup asked

"She knows what we're going to talk about already," Pyrrha replied, looking back at Hiccup

"Ok," Hiccup replied and nothing else was said until they reached the room where Jaune had been assigned to stay in.

Hiccup sat down on one of the beds in the room while Astrid remained standing and Jaune and Pyrrha sat close to each other on another bed.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Hiccup asked once the pair were sitting on a bed.

"It's about something Ozpin told me about during the tournament," Pyrrha said. "Do you know about the four maidens?"

Hiccup sighed. "I'm assuming you don't just mean the fairytale."

Pyrrha shook her head, confirming his thoughts.

"He asked you to become one of the maidens then."

"Yeah. The fall maiden to be exact."

"So what more do you want to know?"

"What happens now? Since Ozpin is dead, do I just continue on as a regular huntress?" Pyrrha asked

"I…don't know to be honest. I haven't given that much thought so far. Maybe you can ask Glynda when we get back to Vale?" Hiccup suggested but frowned when Pyrrha's face fell.

"You're really bothered by that aren't you? Alright. Come with me. I need to show you something."

"What is it?" Pyrrha asked when Hiccup stood up and took her hand in his gently.

"You'll find out soon. Come on." Hiccup lead Pyrrha out of the room into the hallway until they were out of sight from the people in the room.

He let go of her hand and looked her right in the eye. "What I'm about to show you, I've only shown to two other people before so please don't tell Ren or Nora or Ruby or Astrid about this and try not to laugh."

Pyrrha was bewildered by what he meant and blinked when the space that had been occupied by Hiccup was suddenly empty.

She heard a squeak and looked down to see a mouse at her feet before Hiccup appeared again.

"Was that your semblance?" She asked.

"No, it's not my semblance. You'd think since we were just talking about magic you would know what that was." Hiccup said dryly.

"Oh," Pyrrha said sheepishly.

"Turns out you and Jaune think alike. You two really were made for each other." Hiccup quipped and Pyrrha blushed lightly at his comment.

"C-Can we move on from that?"

"Alright. So what is bothering you? Is it the fact you were going to receive magic powers?"

"…It's more a feeling of guilt. I asked Jaune whether or not I should become the fall maiden in an indirect way," Pyrrha muttered.

"Is…that all?" Hiccup asked

"I pushed him into a wall," Pyrrha said.

"And I made a grown man afraid of mice. Have you apologised for that?"

"Yes. But I still feel guilty and I have been feeling like this for months."

"Well how about this: you go ahead and do whatever you think will make you feel less guilty about that or at least something that will help you forget about it."

"Like what?"

"Perhaps you and Jaune could perform the horizontal tango like you did at my forge in Vale."

"Horizontal tango?" Pyrrha asked before she caught on to what he meant moments later and performed a perfect impression of her hair.

"Why did you do that after only a day? You hadn't even gone on a date like normal people do. I've never understood that."

"Let's just say I was getting frustrated at a certain Blonde's obliviousness."

"Ah." Hiccup replied as the click of heels echoed down the hallway.

Hiccup turned to face the person who had approached while Pyrrha returned to the room where Jaune and Astrid were waiting. Hiccup was greeted by the sight of a tall woman with white hair styled in a bun. She had a stern face and her complexion matched Weiss, making Hiccup wonder if they were related. It was possible, as the woman looked to be around her mid-twenties in age at the most.

The woman's attire was navy blue, white and grey coloured. It consisted of a white coat with a red brooch, exposed upper arms and black gloves. Her pants had garters incorporated into them.

The woman came to a stop in front of Hiccup and looked him up and down as if sizing him up.

"Are you Hiccup?" The woman asked him.

"That depends. Who are you?"

"I am Winter Schnee, I work for General Ironwood."

"Then yes. I am Hiccup."

Winter raised an eyebrow. "While I can understand being cautious of those you haven't met yet, it is a trait I don't see often among Huntsmen and Huntresses. Can I ask who trained you?"

"Ozpin. I was trained for two years."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry to hear he died."

"Yeah…Anyway, does Ironwood need me for something?"

"Yes…shouldn't you be sad that Ozpin is gone?" Winter said, eyeing him carefully.

"I am. But I'd rather not talk or think about him if you don't mind."

She nodded in acceptance. "I'll take you to Ironwood now."

* * *

Meanwhile at an unknown location elsewhere in Remnant.

A door opened and footsteps were heard moving quickly before coming to an abrupt halt. The door shut with a bang that echoed around the room.

"I bring news from Vale, high leader," a voice said. "And Chief Ghira." The person speaking added respectfully.

"At ease. What is your news?" The High leader - whose voice signified the person speaking was female - replied.

"There is a rumour that the Glynda Goodwitch and some student Huntsmen and Huntresses have been tasked by the Vale Council to deal with the White Fang branch in Vale." The person reported.

"Is _He_ also involved in this?"

"I don't know." was the received reply.

"I want you to find out. If _He_ really is back, and is involved in this task set by the Vale council, then I would like to arrange a meeting with him. Maybe even help them out. After all, not just anyone can catch Adam Taurus." The High leader said before dismissing the person who had spoken.

"Right away, High leader." The reply was followed by the sound of footsteps moving quickly once again and a large door opening before closing with a loud bang in a similar fashion to what had happened before the conversation had taken place.

Footsteps were once again heard, but this time it was the High leader who was walking down a set of stairs.

The footsteps stopped and the person spoke up again. "I've decided that our new friends should be placed under our protection. Let us offer that so we could work together."

"What about the rest of the White Fang? This won't make you popular with everyone else Sienna."

"I'm aware. But they won't question it if Adam is branded a traitor. Attacking the Huntsmen and Huntresses on that arena doesn't bring equality for the Faunus. It brings war for the White Fang. It's a miracle we aren't already at war Ghira." Sienna replied

"Speaking of the White Fang, have you heard of any news concerning my daughter, Blake? I haven't heard anything since she left Menagerie."

"Nothing apart from a rumour that a human huntsman protected her from Adam. But I haven't heard any news about her since then. Maybe I could send someone to look for her. It could be a favour for old times sake."

"I'd like that," Ghira admitted. "I could do without worrying about my daughter."

"Consider it done, my old friend. It was nice meeting you again." Sienna replied.

"Likewise, Sienna," Ghira said before heavy footsteps were heard heading for the door once again.

* * *

Over in Atlas Academy, Winter lead Hiccup to General Ironwood's office, who just so happened to be the headmaster of the school.

Winter knocked on the door and waited until Ironwood called them in before opening the door.

Hiccup almost stumbled as he tried to squeeze past Winter with his crutches, which hindered the action significantly.

He eventually got past the door and looked at Ironwood, who was amused by his efforts.

"Yeah, Yeah. I can see you smiling there Ironwood. What was it you wanted to see me about?" Hiccup sat down awkwardly, placing his crutches against the leg of the table that Ironwood and Hiccup were now sitting near before sitting up and looking at Ironwood.

Ironwood schooled his features, making his expression neutral once more while Winter made a noise of protest.

"General Ironwood." Winter corrected Hiccup but went ignored by both Hiccup and Ironwood.

"You can go now, Winter." Ironwood dismissed her.

He waited until she had left the room before placing an envelope on the desk in front of him

"What is this?"

"This, is a letter addressed to you. I do believe it is from Ozpin."

"He's dead." Hiccup pointed out

"Well, maybe you should read it to find out more."

Hiccup shrugged and picked up the envelope. He opened it and took out the letter, dropping the envelope onto the table in front of him before reading the letter itself.

Hiccup's face went through a variety of emotions while he read the letter. He started off confused, then became curious, then his expression became disbelief before changing to one of anger and disbelief as he put the letter down.

"That shouldn't be possible…" Hiccup muttered under his breath before speaking louder so Ironwood could hear.

"I need to speak to Qrow and Glynda as soon as possible and travelling would take too long. How soon can you get the CCT tower in Vale fixed?"

"I'd send engineers to Vale to fix it today if I could, but the council are nervous. I can't convince them to do it. Believe me, I tried already."

"What if I asked them? Glynda did say I now hold a seat on the Vale council. Maybe I could convince them to help."

"It's worth a shot I suppose," Ironwood mused. "But it will have to wait. Doctor Polendina called a few minutes ago. He is ready to fit your new prosthetic now and is waiting in the medical lab not far from here.

"Well let's tell our guests and then I will head over there." Hiccup said picking up the letter and folding it carefully before putting it in one of his pockets and reaching for his crutches and standing up.

* * *

Over in Vale, Glynda marched purposefully into Junior's club, flanked by Coco and Velvet who had their weapons ready. The occupants of the club - Junior's gang - were startled by the sudden appearance of the three Huntresses and became worried at the sight of Coco's minigun.

Coco glanced at Glynda who nodded - a silent conversation going on between them - before Coco advanced further into the Club and stood with the dancefloor right in front of her.

"I only want to know one thing. Where is Junior?" Coco demanded, moving her weapon around threateningly.

"He left a few minutes ago." one of the gang members said nervously as Coco pointed her minigun at him. "He told us to clear out the bar and meet him in Mistral. He's leaving Vale for good."

"We might be able to catch him if we hurry. Let's go." Coco said, turning to Glynda and Velvet. They nodded before heading for the exit. Coco kept her gun trained on the gang members in case they tried anything while walking towards the door as well, before turning around and leaving the club.

* * *

Blake was walking back to where she was now staying in Vale. She was now living in the abandoned ruins of the Vale Police Headquarters. She had left after the White Fang had attacked the Amity Colosseum and had not seen or talked to any of her teammates or anyone at Beacon for that matter.

Arriving at what remained of the building, she went inside. She sat down at the seat at reception, where Amy had worked. Blake found herself wondering where the receptionist had gone.

Since the Amity Colosseum had fallen out of the sky…

Blake sighed as a familiar wave of guilt washed over her. She knew that she wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it, so instead, she did what she had done ever since she thought of the event. She leant back in the chair she was sitting in and tried to fall asleep.

When Blake had first tried to sleep in the chair, it had been very uncomfortable. But now, after doing it for three months, she was something of an expert.

Less than ten minutes later, Blake was sound asleep and dreaming.

* * *

3 months ago:

After the rogue robots had been dealt with, the staff and soldiers who remained on the Amity Colosseum saw to it that the Huntsmen and Huntresses in training were evacuated next.

The teams of students present were herded into the nearest airship.

The airship took off, heading for Vale. It landed in the city and the students witnessed local Huntsmen and Huntresses dealing with even more rogue Atlesian robots and Grim when they climbed out of it.

"We should help them," Ruby stated

"I'll help with the Grim," Blake said. "I'll come with you," Weiss replied, her tone offering no room for argument.

"We'll help with those robots," Yang said, glancing at her sister with a grin and loading her weapons in emphasis.

"That's great and all sis, but what about Beacon? What if there is Grim there?" Ruby wondered.

"We'll try and make a path there instead," Blake stated. "If we do find lots of Grim there, we'll let you both know."

"Alright." Ruby agreed and the team split up, with Ruby and Yang as well as the other teams deciding to help the local Huntsmen and Huntresses.

When the pair reaches Beacon, they encounter White Fang members, who seem surprised to see Weiss Schnee approached accompanied by Blake Belladonna, who had been a well-known member of the organization as a result of her father - Ghira Belladonna - being the leader.

"A Schnee and a Faunus working together. How the mighty have fallen." One member, the closest to the duo sneered in contempt.

"Indeed," Blake said, capitalizing on the Faunus' brief confusion to charge at him.

The other teams of Huntsmen and Huntresses in training were helping to push back the Grim and limit the amount present.

Yang looked up after delivering a punch to a beowolf and saw the Amity Colosseum gradually picking up speed as it fell out of the sky.

Yang turned, alarmed - as Blake and Weiss weren't back yet - and got the attention of one of the nearest trained Huntsman.

"Hey!" Yang shouted and pointed at the arena in the sky when he turned to face her. "The arena is about to hit the city and half my team aren't back yet. They're probably out in the open fighting Grim. Can I go find them?"

The Huntsman looked at the amount of Grim left. "Sure," he said. "We should be okay without you, but try not to waste time." Yang nodded and ran off in the direction of Beacon.

Back at Beacon, Blake was fighting off a group of White Fang soldiers, before using her Semblance to dodge a dual sword-wielding soldier before getting overwhelmed by more White Fang members, but they are all suddenly knocked back by Weiss.

"Come on!" Weiss says to Blake, who replies with a single resolute nod.

Before Weiss and Blake could do anything else, they notice the Amity Colosseum about to crash into Vale.

Weiss and Blake exchange one last look with each other before parting ways and rushing to find cover.

"Be safe," Weiss says before she runs off as the two part ways, Blake started running for the dining hall. However, she stops when she notices how close the Amity Colosseum is to falling on Vale. She is about to move again when she hears the sound of a blade scraping along the floor inside the dining hall. She then gives a look of horror when she sees a familiar figure inside.

"No…Adam?" Blake gasped, shocked and afraid.

Adam grinned creepily at her, with a White Fang mask that made his expression even creepier than it would be if he wasn't wearing it.

"Hello, my darling," he said as Blake started backing away from the shattered window, staring in horror at her old partner.

"Running away again? Is that what you've become, my love? A coward?"

"Why are you doing this?" Blake wondered.

"You and I were going to change the world, remember? We were destined to light the fires of revolution! Consider this...a spark." Blake charged into the dining hall, drawing her sword in a flash. Her blade clashes with his as she pushes him back, and they stand with their blades locked.

"I'm…not…running," she said while glaring at him with gritted teeth.

"You will." He kicks her away, knocking her onto the floor. A nearby Creep runs toward her, only for the Grim to be shot by Adam.

"But not before you suffer for your betrayal, my love." He smiles and begins walking toward her.

It was at this moment the Amity Colosseum crashed into Vale. The whole city shook as an earthquake was triggered as a result while the Arena itself exploded in the centre of Vale.

A large number of buildings were damaged in the earthquake and explosion, such as the VPD headquarters and the clockwork mechanism and windows in Ozpin's office at the top of the CCT tower.

Adam was knocked over as a result of the earthquake. He stood up again when the earthquake ended and looked down at Blake, who was on the ground, glaring at him.

"This could've been our day! Can't you see that!?"

"I never wanted this to happen! I wanted equality! I wanted peace!" Blake protested. She raises her sword, its blade folding into sickle mode, and shoots at Adam, who blocks bullets with his sword.

"What you want is impossible!" Adam snapped back. He sheathed his sword and backhanded Blake across her face, knocking her over. "But I understand because all I want is you, Blake." She begins to raise her sickle again, only for him to kick it out of her hand, knocking her over once again. "And as I set out upon this world and deliver the justice mankind so greatly deserves, I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love."

"Blake!" a familiar voice shouted and Blake felt a rush of despair, already guessing what Adam would say next. Yang's voice drew their attention to one of the broken windows. She soon came into view and shot a White Fang member, before looking around for her teammate.

"Blake! Where are you!?" Adam looked at Blake to see her terrified expression, then returns his gaze to Yang.

"Starting with her," Adam said and Blake found she had guessed right. Adam draws his sword and stabbed it into Blake's abdomen near her left hip, causing her to shriek in pain. The cry catches Yang's attention.

"Huh?"

Adam stood upright, pulling his sword from Blake's flesh and turning to face Yang.

"Get away from her!" Yang shouted, seeing Blake get stabbed.

Blake reached out towards Yang helplessly, her voice a whisper. "No... please…"

Adam sheathed his sword, smiling. Yang screamed, her eyes turning red and a burst of flame erupting from her. She leapt at Adam, drawing her fist back with tears in her eyes. Adam swiftly draws his sword, swinging it through the air at Yang, as his Semblance activates. As Yang flies through the air, the lower half of her right arm separates from her.

Yang flew through the air, beginning to lose consciousness, with glowing yellow Aura splattering out from her wound. She landed on the floor and lay there on her side, completely still.

Adam slowly walked toward Yang's unconscious body and swung his sword out to the side, casting blood from its blade. Before he can reach her, Blake throws herself between them, giving him a determined stare.

Adam frowned at her. "Why must you hurt me, Blake?"

He swung his sword, and Blake's head detached from her neck. However, both her body and her head suddenly vanished, revealing Blake had used her semblance and Adam turns to watch the real Blake flee, dragging Yang with her. He begins slowly walking after her, not even bothering to look at the Creep that attempted to ambush him as he cuts it down.

* * *

Blake awoke from her nightmare with a start. She looked around in a panic before remembering where she was and relaxed.

She then stood up when she heard the sound of a car driving towards the building she was in, getting louder as it got nearer.

Blake hurried to grab her weapon and load it, prepared to face the White Fang.

She didn't have to bother, however, as the car drove straight past the building she was in without stopping.

Nevertheless, Blake waited until she could no longer hear the car before letting herself relax.

She then emerged from the building and came to a decision. She headed for the docks with a new sense of determination.

* * *

Meanwhile, Glynda, Coco and Velvet were nearing the airport after passing the Vale police Headquarters.

They arrived, quickly exiting the vehicle and scanned the area, looking for Junior.

Glynda's eyes met a man who was standing a fair distance away, wearing a large coat. He was flanked by two girls who she didn't recognise. The man turned around quickly when their eyes met which raised her suspicions but a shout from Velvet confirmed her thoughts.

"Junior's over there!" Velvet exclaimed before giving chase, with Glynda not able to run because of the high heels she was wearing and Coco fairing only slightly better, barely able to keep up with Velvet.

Junior discarded his coat as he ran, having no further use for it as he and the girls that had been on either side of him were running, seemingly aimlessly, to the end of the runway.

Suddenly, Velvet stopped running, her face contorted in pain and clutching her bunny ears.

Coco and Glynda noticed and stopped as well. "What's wrong?" Coco asked her teammate.

The answer could be heard before Velvet could reply. Coco and Glynda turned and looked up to see a bullhead flying towards them.

It flew past them, heading for Junior, who was almost at the end of the runway.

"It's heading for Junior over there. Go on Glynda. I'll handle Velvet here." Coco said.

Glynda nodded and continued on, marching at a slightly faster pace than before.

The bullhead reached the edge of the runway and descended onto it slowly. The door opened and Roman Torchwick appeared, a short pink-haired girl wearing a psychotic grin on her face standing next to him.

Roman noticed Glynda approaching. "It's a good thing you called me to help you leave Vale Junior," he commented before he nodded at his pink and brown haired female companion. The girl jumped out of the Bullhead and bent her knees as she landed. She then stood up and faced Glynda.

The girl was wearing a whitetail jacket with a pink interior and one wide broad tail, brown pants, black gloves, and black and white boots with very high heels and multiple buttons on each side.

Under her jacket was a brown corset, curved in the middle and at the bottom, exposing her hips. She also wore a multitude of necklaces, which hung haphazardly around her neck.

She was holding a pink umbrella in her right hand which she pointed at Glynda as if it were a sword.

Glynda was briefly caught off guard by the choice of weapon before she began walking forward again.

The girl lunged at Glynda, who activated her semblance and batted her aside as if the girl were an insect.

The girl was thrown to the aside, not expecting the action and was about to charge at Glynda again when a hail of bullets struck the surface of the runway on her left.

The girl scrambled to get away before turning to see Coco aiming her minigun at her.

Velvet stood beside her now, her sensitive hearing no longer protesting since the bullhead had landed and its' engines were no longer making noise.

"Go help Glynda. I'll deal with her."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Velvet! Go on. Use your weapon if you have to."

Velvet nodded and ran ahead as Coco fired her weapon again, forcing the girl to dodge the gunfire once more.

Meanwhile, Glynda had now reached the bullhead. She used her semblance again, just as Junior set foot on the aircraft.

Junior was enveloped in a purple glow and pulled towards Glynda, taking him completely by surprise.

Junior looked at Roman and his nieces who had climbed on already.

"Little help?" Junior asked the three of them, more than a little afraid of Glynda.

Roman made a show of thinking about it. "Sorry, you brought this on yourself," the criminal said, not sounding the least bit apologetic.

Junior rolled his eyes and looked at his nieces in hope.

"Yeah," Melanie began.

"What he said." Miltia finished, dashing his hope instantly.

Roman must have then signalled to the pilot, as the bullhead lifted into the air.

"Besides, you never mentioned huntresses were after you," Roman added

"Neo!" Roman then called out. The girl gave a mocking bow, before suddenly appearing in the bullhead which flew away, leaving Junior alone to his fate.

Junior looked down in despair before speaking again as Coco and Velvet approached and stood next to Glynda.

"I'll go quietly," he said, not willing to meet the gaze of his captors, which he assumed would be filled with pity.

* * *

At the docks, a certain cat Faunus bought a ticket with what little lien she had left and stepped onto a ship heading for Menagerie, unaware that she was being watched by a cloaked figure.

"Back to Menagerie. Home sweet home." Blake chuckled humorlessly to herself while leaning on the railing and staring out to sea.

Home didn't feel very sweet. She did leave home without saying goodbye to her parents after all.

She hoped they wouldn't be too mad when she arrived back home.

"Who am I kidding? I would deserve it if they were angry. At least I won't have to keep looking over my shoulder when I get there." Blake muttered under her breath

The ships' horn sounded and it started to move away from Vale. Blake's journey had just begun.

* * *

Over in Atlas, Hiccup was laying on a gurney. He was about to be wheeled into surgery so his prosthetic could be fitted to his leg.

Team JNPR, Ruby and Astrid were crowded around the foot of the gurney. Astrid looked like she didn't want to be here, and Hiccup didn't blame her. But Ruby - who had arrived a few minutes ago after spending time with Penny - had forced her closer to the gurney, either not noticing the tension in the room or not caring.

To be fair, only Ren seemed to have noticed the problem that seemed to have arisen between Astrid and Hiccup, besides the individuals themselves.

"Why don't we say goodbye to Hiccup for now? We're kind of in the way of the Doctors and Nurses over there." Ren said, eyeing the nurses who were standing a few meters away and getting more irritated by the minute. Doctor Polendina was also there, but he didn't seem as bothered as the surgeons themselves.

Hiccup made a mental note to thank Ren in some way after getting his prosthetic fitted. Maybe pay for a date between Nora and the usually silent teen.

Ruby turned around and blushed in embarrassment when she saw that Ren was right.

"Sorry!" She said earnestly, her voice rising an octave in pitch.

"Come on guys. Let's go now. Bye Hiccup!" Ruby said before vanishing in a cloud of rose petals.

Team JNPR and Astrid also bid their farewells, with Astrid refusing to meet his gaze.

When the five remaining people had left, the nurses began to wheel him to the surgery theatre in the medical lab.

Doctor Polendina walked alongside the gurney.

"Feeling Nervous?" he asked, noticing Hiccup deep in thought

"No, just thinking about stuff."

"Well. I'll leave you to it."

"Just like that? I thought you were going to tell me to stop or something."

The scientist chuckled. "No, you won't hear that from me. I do much the same thing you know. It's usually when I get my best ideas for inventions." The man chuckled once more before going silent.

Hiccup was grateful for the silence as he had a lot on his mind. The thing that he considered most important out of all the thoughts on his mind at that moment, however, was how to solve the rift that had formed between him and Astrid, that admittedly was his fault.

Why couldn't he let the matter drop? Hiccup asked himself but found no answer.

He arrived at the theatre and the surgeons got ready to begin to fit his prosthetic. A few minutes later, a mask was put on his face and he began to feel drowsy as general anesthetic was administered. His last thought before he was put asleep was that he needed to find a way to get Astrid to open up to him. Hiccup then closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

A/N: So relationship drama between Hiccup and Astrid, a mysterious letter from Ozpin, Junior being caught by Glynda, Coco and Velvet, Blake having nightmares and leaving Vale to go back home, and Hiccup going to have a prosthetic attached.

P.S. There was also a lack of "To Be Continued" this chapter. That phrase is out of here. What, did you think this was a TV show?

lol. Anyway, stay tuned for more to come… in two weeks. On Thursday 17th of January 2019 for those of you keeping track.

Until Next Time!

Silvolde


	19. Non-Negotiable Deal

A New World

Chapter 19: Non-Negotiable Deal

A/N: Almost reached the date when I posted my very first story on Fanfiction. Can't believe that what I began doing as a hobby would still be going strong nearly a year later. Time does fly when you have fun.

Anyway, you should all know that since I have no knowledge of prosthetics, and since RWBY is further along technology wise than earth currently is in this field, I have no idea if how Hiccup copes with using his prosthetic in this chapter is in anyway realistic. Apologies for unrealism in this chapter.

But then again, this is a story where magic is used and Hiccup can turn into a mouse as a result of said magic, so realism in this story is probably long dead by this point.

 _*Throws realism out the window*_

I hope you like the chapter regardless.

There will be a time skip of a week in this chapter since that is apparently the smallest amount of time it takes for someone to learn to walk with a prosthetic.

Yay for (kinda) realism! lol

…Oh, and before I forget. The sparring scene in this chapter was written by Daaad123. Check out his work on ao3.

If he reads this then thanks for the help!

* * *

Over in Vale, Glynda, Coco and Velvet returned to Beacon with Junior in tow. They entered the room where the rest of the group were waiting.

"You caught him? That's good." Dr Oobleck said when he noticed Junior.

"You're talking about me like I'm some kind of a prize," Junior grumbled but went ignored.

"What do you know about the White Fang," Glynda asked him.

"Not much. At least nothing that you don't already know."

"Really? Explain to me how you have a contact with the White Fang."

"Adam threatened me if I wouldn't help him out. So I did. It wasn't too long ago actually. That's all. I don't know anything more about him and the White Fang."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Coco asked.

Junior looked at her. "I guess you can't yet. But I know a way I can help you find Adam."

Coco's eyes narrowed. "How?"

"I could have my gang look for information on the White Fang. I could find a way for one of you," he paused and looked meaningfully at Velvet, "to pretend to join the White Fang and find out about Adam that way."

"You want to have Velvet act as a White Fang member?!" Coco exclaimed, an incredulous expression on her face as she stared at Junior.

"Do you have a better idea? Besides, it would prove I can be trusted, wouldn't it?"

"You could lead Velvet or any one of us to an ambush. I mean you were working with the White Fang. You technically still are."

Junior rolled his eyes. "I'm not suicidal. If the White Fang didn't kill you all, then you would come after me again and I am far from being able to fend off trained huntsmen and huntresses. In fact, I lost a fight to a girl who used shotgun gauntlets. She also damaged my club."

"You lost to Yang?" Coco said, trying and failing not to laugh.

"Yes," Junior deadpanned. "But I didn't know her name at the time."

"Let's vote on it." Glynda suggested. "Who thinks we should go with Junior's plan?"

Velvet, Violet, Oobleck, Port, Cardin and Glynda all voted for the plan to take place, with Coco shooting Velvet a look of betrayal when her hand went up.

"Don't give me that look Coco." Velvet said. "We both know we have no other choice."

"We do, we can wait for Hiccup. He said he had two ideas for where we can get information on the White Fang." Coco protested

"Who isn't here right now. Besides, his second source of information might be as hard to find as Adam is right now. Also, how do we know the information he can find is up to date?"

Coco's next words died in her mouth and she had no counter argument. She remained silent, but it was easy to see she wasn't happy.

Velvet looked at Junior. "How soon can you get information on them?"

"Hard to say, but I'll get on it right away."

* * *

Hiccup woke up and was greeted by the sight of the white ceiling of the room he was in. The colour reminded him of a hospital. The next thing Hiccup noticed was the fact he was laying in a hospital bed.

His memories coming back to him, Hiccup sat up and threw back the bedcovers. He was greeted by the sight of his prosthetic. It was obviously metallic and painted a dark grey.

Hiccup then scanned the room. The room was as white as could be, with as little variation from the colour as possible. The bedcovers, carpet and even the curtains that were near the large window on his right were as white as snow.

Currently, however, there were no doctors or nurses present in the room so Hiccup lay back down on his bed and closed his eyes to relax.

Unfortunately it was not to be for Hiccup as a red portal opened at the foot of the bed and Raven stepped out.

"Hello there." She smirked and Hiccup groaned, recognising her almost instantly, much to his chagrin.

"What are you doing here?"

"What, a girl can't come to visit an old friend?"

"Let me rephrase then: Why did you come to see me?"

"Now why would I tell you that?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe I'll yell and alert the nearest nurse or doctor." Hiccup said dryly.

"What would stop me from fighting them?"

"You wouldn't do that. Not when you can simply use your semblance to leave before anyone arrived."

"…You've certainly done your homework. You'd be useful in the tribe."

"Ah, that's why you're here. No, I'm not joining your tribe, Raven."

"What's makes you think I want to do that?" Raven said, attempting to distract Hiccup from his victory. Hiccup simply directed a deadpan stare at her until she sighed and changed the subject.

"How's Yang?" Raven asked

"Showing care for your daughter? That's new. Why ask me? We both know that you can visit her whenever you want."

"I saved her life once."

"You deserve a gold medal for that. You really do." He quipped, voice dripping in sarcasm. "You know she lost her arm right? Her sister told me that recently."

"I know-"

"Rhetorical question Mrs. I-know-everything. But if that's true, then maybe you could explain why I got a letter from a dead man?"

"Oh, you mean Ozpin?"

"Who else could I possibly mean?!" Hiccup nearly shouted, getting irritated by not receiving direct answers and by the frustrating smirk that had been on her face the whole conversation.

"Who would have thought it? Now you're the one getting angry. It's the opposite of what happened when we first met. Funny that."

"You're talking like you know everything about me." Hiccup noted.

"I do know everything about you."

"Do you Raven? Or do you know everything about me that interests you?" Hiccup asked

"I…" she paused for a few moments. "Ozpin has certainly told you a lot about me." She mused

"Not Ozpin. Qrow." Hiccup corrected.

"Ah yes. My little brother. How is he?"

"I will refer you to my answer from earlier. You know how he is. We've established this already."

"Ok. Since you know so much about me, let's talk about something else. How much do you know about Ozpin?"

"Well he was the Headmaster of Beacon, a trained huntsman and he can use magic."

"Good. You're not completely clueless. Have you heard the story about the four maidens?"

"Yes. And I know they're real so get to the point."

"Have you ever wondered how they got the ability to use magic?"

"Honestly? No. Until now of course."

"Well, what if I told you that Ozpin is the only person on Remnant who still uses magic?"

"…Are you saying that Ozpin gave the four maidens the ability to use magic?"

Raven didn't answer, instead letting the silence answer for her.

"…Right, ok." Raven's smirk disappeared.

"Not going to say more?"

"I don't really care about that, to be honest. If I had never met Ozpin then maybe I would care. But I did let him use magic on me, so obviously it doesn't bother me."

"I'd thought you'd be more surprised."

"Again, I would be, if I didn't already know him. Is there a point to this conversation Raven? Did you travel all the way here just to tell me that Ozpin gave some magic powers to four people?"

"Yes. Has Ozpin told you about Salem?"

"No" Hiccup replied. "Who is Salem?"

"Salem is the master of the creatures of Grim. She can't be stopped, she can't be reasoned with, and she will not rest until humanity crumbles at her feet."

"Ok… sounds somewhat familiar."

Raven was taken aback. "Familiar?"

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah. See, I come from an island called Berk where we regularly have to deal with dragons raiding for food, but it just so happens that dragons don't hesitate to kill anyone in their way while a raid is taking place. Before I left, a friend and I discovered what was causing the raids." Hiccup paused, taking a breath, "There is a dragon the size of a mountain that has dragons bring her food, hence the raids which have been going on for 300 years. Now you say that this Salem can't be stopped, but I think you'd agree that dealing with the Queen dragon is an equally daunting task."

"What's your point?"

"My point is unlike you, I think Salem can be stopped. I simply think nobody has found out a way to stop her yet."

"This isn't the same!" She snapped. "You really think a dragon and Salem are similar?!"

"They are, in the regard that they have others do what they want. Dragons and Grim respectively."

"You're too optimistic for your own good," Raven said coldly.

Hiccup simply shrugged "Maybe I am. But I don't see why that is a bad thing."

"You are aware that she is the one who planned the attack on the Amity Colosseum and Vale? Are you sure she can be beaten?"

"…No, I'm not sure. But if she needs people to carry out her plans then it means two things. One, She needs to remain hidden so nobody knows who is really the cause of what is going on; and two, she has some weakness that she doesn't want anyone to know about so she stays hidden." Hiccup theorized.

"I could be wrong," Hiccup admitted, continuing to speak. "But I could also be right. Anyway, I have to deal with Adam Taurus and the White Fang in Vale first. I'll deal with this Salem person later."

"There is no convincing you is there?" Raven muttered as she shot him a look of disgust, coming to the conclusion that the conversation wasn't going how she wanted. Hiccup shook his head in answer.

Raven stood up with a sigh and unsheathed her sword. "It seems we're done here. Shame, I had hoped you wouldn't be a fool like my brother."

"You thought wrong, unfortunately. It's a shame your attempt to get me to turn on my friends and work for you and your tribe didn't work. Goodbye Raven."

Raven glared at him while activating her semblance and swinging her sword through the air to create a portal. She turned back to face him and Hiccup had a feeling that he wouldn't like what she was going to say next.

"About that blond haired girl. Did she tell you how she escaped that cell in the police station in Vale?"

"How do you know about Astrid?"

"Is that her name? I'll give you a rather obvious hint." She gestured with her sword at the portal.

Hiccup was perplexed. "Why would you help her? What do you get out of it?"

"Why do you think I would need a reason to help someone?"

"Really? This is coming from the person who believes 'The weak die, the strong survive', you have a whole tribe who believe that as well. You definitely need a reason to help someone."

Raven directed a smug smirk in Hiccup's direction. "Why don't you ask her to find out? She's nearby isn't she?" Raven said, echoing a point of his from earlier in the conversation.

"Don't patronise me, Raven. I'm not in the mood. Tell me what you want and why you helped Astrid."

Raven's smirk vanished. "No. And as for what I want, I want you to join my tribe."

"Never going to happen."

"Really? Well, it would be a shame if Astrid were hurt."

The threat was clear. Hiccup glared at her, his eyes blazing in fury for a moment before forcing himself to calm down.

"Wow. I thought Adam Taurus was bad but you are in a whole different league. He at least has a reason to do what he does. Not a good one, but that is more than what I can say about you."

"And what would you say about me?" She said, her tone dangerous but Hiccup couldn't bring himself to care.

"You are a spoiled child who destroys anyone and anything she doesn't like under that motto of yours." Hiccup spat

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that, but you better not speak to me like that again. Now, are you in or out?"

Hiccup sighed in despair, seeing no other option he agreed reluctantly. "I'm in, just don't hurt Astrid. What do you want me to do?"

"I'll tell you about that in time. Welcome to the tribe."

With that, she then turned away from Hiccup and walked through the glowing red portal and disappeared before it closed moments later.

Soon after Raven left via her portal, a nurse entered the room. She looked over and noticed him awake, sitting up in bed.

"Ah, good. You're awake. Dr Polendina wanted to see you as soon as you woke up." The nurse said before leaving the room to fetch the Scientist in question.

With nothing better to do, Hiccup lay back on the bed and closed his eyes to relax once again.

Hiccup heard someone cough a few minutes later and he opened his eyes to see Dr Polendina standing at the foot of his hospital bed.

"Hello, Hiccup." The Doctor greeted him.

"Hi. Uh, I have a question, sir…"

"What is it?"

"You told me that you built that robot, that you called Penny. If you built that robot, then how-"

"Am I a Doctor?" he filled in.

Hiccup nodded and he chuckled.

"I wondered if you would ask that. My job is a doctor is part-time. I worked on Penny first and as a result, I am approached whenever someone has issues with their prosthetic. It is less stressful than having to obey the council when they ask for robots armed with lasers that can cut through bullheads." Dr Polendina replied.

"Huh. That's interesting." Hiccup mused.

"Now, I think it would be a good time for you to get used to your prosthetic." Dr Polendina said. "Ready?"

"I guess." Hiccup muttered before folding back the bedcovers and placing both feet on the ground.

Hiccup started to stand up and place weight on his prosthetic before he fell over from a phantom pain, just before he hit the floor the Doctor caught him by placing his arm across Hiccups chest.

"I think we should maybe head to the physical room to work on your walking." Dr Polendina stated as he helped Hiccup to sit back on the bed.

"That may be for the best." Hiccup mumbled looking down at his prosthetic in disgust.

Dr Polendina stepped out of the room for a few moments and came back in with a wheelchair.

"Would you like help into the chair?" Arthur asked as they brought the chair closer to where Hiccup was sitting.

"I've got this." Hiccup replied, waving off the man's concern.

He promptly sat down in the wheelchair after speaking.

Dr Polendina grabbed the wheelchair by the handles and started out of the room, Hiccup lost track of where they were going well making small talk with Dr Polendina.

"Here we are Hiccup, Let's get you started by walking back and forth on the balance bars a few times, shall we?" Dr. Polendina asked while parking the wheelchair at the end of the bars so that Hiccup could grab them while standing up.

Hiccup nods as he pushes himself up and out of the wheelchair, grabbing onto the balance bars and bracing himself between them before taking a supported step forward, again nearly going for a tumble as he feet the odd pressure of the prosthetic pressing against his stump.

"Take it easy Hiccup, the Prosthetic will take a bit to get used to," The doctor said as he walked closer to Hiccup having not expected him to try again so quickly.

"I don't want to take it easy, People are relying on me and I am not going to be able to help them like this, I need to get walking quickly and under my own damn power" Hiccup said as he took another step on the prosthetic leg and this time seemed to be doing alright.

Having Hiccup walk back and forth on the balance bars a few times the doctor decided it is time to try walking free of the supports.

"I think that you should now try walking to the wall Hiccup, you are hardly using the bars anyways," the Doctor said, motioning to the wall that is about ten feet away from the end of the balance bars.

Hiccup walked to the wall with almost no issue, only stumbling a little as he nears the wall, then Hiccup takes the initiative to walk around the room staying near the wall before walking back towards the doctor.

"How is the prosthetic feeling now Hiccup?" Dr. Polendina asked as Hiccup got near.

"Better than I thought it would. I expected it to feel just like a weight attached to my leg, but it feels… natural. " Hiccup said, feeling slightly amazed by the prosthetic.

The man nodded. "That's good. Now I want you to keep walking around the room so you can get more used to it. Go on."

Hiccup proceeded to do so, walking from the door to the window and back again a few times until the scientist told him to stop and approach him again.

"That should be enough for today Hiccup. Why don't you go back to your room? I'll tell your friends to come to see you."

"Alright," Hiccup said before leaving the room.

Over in Vale, Junior returned to his club, to the surprise of his gang.

"Boss? Why aren't you in mistral?" One man asked

"Got captured by the local huntsmen. My nieces, Roman Torchwick and his psychotic companion all managed to escape but they left me here." Junior growled

"What do we do now?"

"Well, I am going to disown my nieces. You are going to find some information for me on the White Fang."

The man who had spoken nodded and Junior headed for the bar. He felt he deserved a drink right now.

* * *

Dr Polendina lead Hiccup to another room filled with various gym equipment and he walked over to a treadmill.

"Now you should get used to running with the prosthetic so climb on and only stop when I tell you as I did earlier."

Hiccup nodded and was soon moving at a fast jog on the machine. Hiccup was told to stop after a few minutes. He moved on to practicing hopping and jumping with the prosthetic, which caused some trouble, due to the fact that the prosthetic was only half of his leg instead of the entire limb, causing him to stumble when his feet touched the ground after each jump or hop, although it was more of a problem with the latter.

"I think you're just about ready to go back to the Academy but you still need work on jumping and hopping. I will need to work on your prosthetic later."

"Ok. So when is that going to happen?"

"Not for a while. Come back in a month, I should have a new prosthetic that will let you jump or hop better than the one you have right now by that point" The Doctor answered.

"You can go now Hiccup" He added before Hiccup nodded and left the room.

* * *

At Beacon, the door to the room where the Huntsmen and Huntresses were gathered opened and a White Fang member entered.

Each of them pointed their weapons at the person, who threw his hands up in surrender.

"Wait! I'm not here to fight you!" he shouted

"Then why are you here?" Coco asked, revealing her minigun which had been a handbag beforehand.

The Faunus gulped. "I-I'm here to give you a message from the high leader of the White Fang."

"Sienna Khan?" Velvet said

"Y-yes!"

"What is the message?" Glynda asked, as she lowered her riding crop and everyone else put their weapons away.

"Our high leader wishes to have a meeting with the huntsman who captured Adam Taurus two years ago"

Everyone was confused as to who the Faunus meant before Violet realised who he was talking about. "He's not here right now"

"Oh. Well I shall inform Sienna about that." the Faunus said before promptly leaving the room.

* * *

After Hiccup had been let out of his hospital room when the staff were convinced he was ready, he had asked Pyrrha if she would spar with him. She agreed to his surprise, as he had been prepared and expecting that he would have to beg.

Hiccup and Pyrrha were now standing facing each other in one of the sparring rooms at Atlas Academy.

General Ironwood had gladly shown them the room after Hiccup explained to him that he wished to get used to fighting once more.

Hiccup took up a combat stance, fists raised in front of his face. No need for weapons just yet. Across from him, Pyrrha did the same – except hers was lower – an offensive stance, rather than defensive.

For a long moment, he counted his breaths, waiting and watching. Pyrrha made the first move, a lunging punch aimed at his temple. Hiccup got his arm up, catching the blow on his forearm as his other arm shot out in a jab to catch her on the jaw. Pyrrha backed off before it could land, before jumping back in. She was testing his reach, his speed and reactions.

Hiccup backpedalled from a sweeping right hook before dropping to his knees, his good leg arcing out to catch Pyrrha in the shin. It was a good strike, had it not been for the fact he overestimated the grip his prosthetic would have, sending his kick a little too high and catching the huntress in the arm.

"I'm so sorry-" he began before she raised her hand to cut him off.

"No, that was good" she replied, smiling. "It might be better if you kick with the other leg though." She offered him a hand up. "Again?"

"Again." Hiccup replied. Eventually they moved onto weapons, and Hiccup was back on the attack, sweeping with his axes and keeping Pyrrha behind her shield. She hadn't used her semblance yet as far as he could tell, so this was purely a match of weapon skill. He had found that it was harder to take advantage of the same openings he had before. A sweep with an axe from one direction which drew her shield too far in one direction. An unexpected shot from a pistol to draw her attention in another. All chances he could create but couldn't capitalize on due to his leg throwing him off. He needed to switch things up, he needed to change the pace.

Launching himself at Pyrrha, he struck her with everything. No fancy moves, just raw power – as much as he could muster. It was all she could do to block him, until one blow deflected off her shield in just the wrong way, sending him stumbling right into her spear, a mere finger-span away from his chest. For the longest moment, they held their position.

"I'm surprised," Pyrrha said at the end of the fight, handing him a bottle of water.

"I wasn't expecting you to go all in like that. It was so different from the usual it caught me completely off guard." She grinned like she had just discovered a treasure. "I don't think you needed to knock the rust off."

Hiccup laughed sheepishly. "Maybe, this leg is gonna take some time."

"Seems like it, but that was a good match Hiccup." She praised.

"If you say so. Want to go find the others?" Pyrrha nodded and they left the training room together.

They were almost immediately hit by a red blur.

"There you are! I've got news!" Ruby squealed, shifting from one foot to the other.

"Calm down Ruby. What's the news?" Hiccup asked

She held up a flyer. "Weiss will be singing at a concert" Pyrrha said, looking at the flyer.

"I know! I can't wait! Then I can get Team RWBY back together!"

"You know it's in a month. Can you wait that long?"

Ruby stopped moving from one foot to another. "I'm going to have to, even though I wish I could see her sooner."

Hiccup ruffled her hair, to Pyrrha amusement and Ruby's displeasure. "I'm sure the time will pass quickly. Now I don't know about you two, but I could do with something to eat."

"Same here." Pyrrha smiled.

"Why don't we all go to eat in the cafeteria?" Ruby suggested

Hiccup shrugged. "Lead the way," he said and Ruby was gone in a burst of rose petals while Hiccup and Pyrrha followed at a normal pace.

They were about to enter the cafeteria when a distraught Nora ran up to them.

"Guys! Come quick!" She exclaimed, worry etched into her face.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Pyrrha asked

"It's Jaune! He's been badly hurt." Nora said. "Come on!" she reached out to grab Pyrrha by the arm, while the girl herself had turned pale.

"Go. I'll go find help" Hiccup said.

Nora nodded and started dragging Pyrrha away while Hiccup ran in the opposite direction, heading for the Academy's infirmary as fast as he could.

* * *

A/N: Dun, Dun, Dunnn!

A cliffhanger!

lol

Anyway, Jaune is injured and Hiccup is now living a double life against his will thanks to Raven. Poor Hiccup.

First, he loses part of a limb and now Raven shows up 3 years after last seeing him to Blackmail him into joining her tribe of Bandits.

Will things get better for him? I guess we'll have to see.

Remember to review and I will see you all on the 1st of February with another chapter.

I don't know about you all, but I am looking forward to Hiccup meeting Sienna.

Until next chapter, which is due on the 1st of February.

Silvolde


	20. Not Without Toothless

A New World

Chapter 20: Not Without Toothless

A/N: Another day, another chapter…

Call this a surprise chapter. I put the story on Hiatus as I thought I wouldn't have this finished by the 1st of February, but as you can see, that was not the case.

In order to not feel pressured into writing, which is a bad thing for the quality of chapters, I think I'm going to get rid of my schedule for A New World. Quality over Quantity and all that, like I just said. The next chapter will be out… eventually. No idea when, but that should make each chapter much better from now on.

I'm not sure if this will apply to From The Shadows, however, which is still nowhere near ready to receive an update. Ugh.

*grumbles about writer's block*

The next few chapters will involve Raven a lot more. With Ozpin gone, she has plans to use Hiccup. I'm personally excited to see what she will do next.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Have fun now!

* * *

Hiccup came across Nora, Ren, Pyrrha, Ruby, and Astrid, who were waiting outside Jaune and Ren's assigned room.

The five of them were crowded around an unconscious Jaune. There was a stab wound tearing through Jaune's hoodie and into his lower torso where he wasn't protected by his armour.

The nurse that Hiccup had brought with him then stepped forward."I need to get him to the infirmary." the nurse said, after glancing at Jaune. "I need you to carry him there." the nurse ordered, looking at Ren.

Ren nodded and sprang to his feet. He took hold of one of Jaune's limp arms and placed it over his shoulder, doing the same with the other arm and pulling Jaune up.

"Follow me." the nurse then said, turning and walking away from the group without another word, Ren following her.

Hiccup then glanced at Pyrrha. Her face was contorted, holding back tears. "Shouldn't you go with him?" he asked her.

She stood up. "I-I will. Come on Ruby and Nora." Pyrrha then left the room with the pair following close behind.

Hiccup sighed and turned around. "Right, Astrid…"

He paused when he found the space where she had been standing was empty. Hiccup then heard footsteps quickly moving further and further away. He turned around and saw a head of blonde hair quickly retreating down the hallway.

Hiccup groaned out loud when she was out of sight. "Great, now she is avoiding me. Why did I pressure her about that secret? Maybe I can tell Astrid about Raven to make up for it? No, she would hate me for that."

As if the mere mentioning of her name had summoned her, a portal appeared inside the room, just past the doorway.

Hiccup turned to face Raven. "Oh not you again." Hiccup let out a long-suffering sigh. "Let's get this over with." He stepped into the room Raven was standing in.

She raised an eyebrow. "Excited to see me? I never would have thought I would see that happen."

"Don't flatter yourself, Raven. I have better things to do, it's really not about you. Oh, and let's keep this…" Hiccup gestured between them. "…whatever this is, between us. I don't want Astrid involved in any way. You hurt her and I leave your tribe. Permanently."

Raven chuckled. "I wasn't under the impression you had a choice."

"Oh, but I do. You hurt Astrid and I'm gone. I know you want me in your tribe for whatever reason. I know how you act remember?"

She chuckled again and smirked. "You're threatening me and you don't even know why I want you?"

"I'll find out eventually."

"I doubt that. Now, do you want to hear the good news?"

Hiccup's eyes narrowed. "What good news?"

"I'm not going to tell you that here. To find out, you'll need to come with me back to my tribe." Raven replied.

Hiccup glared at her. "Not happening."

"Is that how this is always going to be? You're overreacting."

Hiccup scoffed. "I'm overreacting? Oh yes, if you call distrust of the person who tried to capture Toothless three years ago and threatened to hurt Astrid last week overreacting then I guess you're right. What's to say you don't have your whole tribe waiting to attack me on the other end of that portal?"

"You're not useful to me dead. I won't kill you." Raven said.

"Well, that just fills me with confidence." Hiccup sighed but stood up. "I will go with you on one condition." His eyes laid on the dragon who was sleeping in a corner in the room.

"Toothless comes with me."

"No." She denied immediately.

"Then no deal. I'm not going anywhere without Toothless. I've spent enough time away from him."

Raven glared at him but Hiccup didn't back down. She rolled her eyes moments later. "Fine. Hurry up."

After waking Toothless from his nap by promising to take him flying later, Toothless, Hiccup, and Raven stepped through the portal - in that order - and were brought to a location in the middle of a forest.

Hiccup was in a clearing, with tents surrounding him and trees dotted about outside the clearing. There were various men and women, each of them carrying weapons in clear view - either in their hands or strapped to their legs - and were walking about on guard.

'On guard for Grimm' Hiccup guessed.

Raven coughed behind him. He turned to look at her.

She gestured around at the tents set up nearby. "Welcome to my humble abode." Hiccup rolled his eyes at that.

She then turned around and walked to the largest tent in the clearing. Hiccup followed her as she lifted up the tent flap and they went inside.

Hiccup saw two people inside, sitting at a table. One of them was a woman he didn't know and the other was Qrow.

Hiccup did a double take when he saw the man.

"Is this the good news you talked about Raven?"

"No. At least not from my point of view. He's been annoying me all day, asking details about all the maidens constantly."

"Alright then." Hiccup sat at the table in a chair across from Qrow, while Toothless, who had followed Hiccup and Raven into the tent, curled up in one of the corners. "Make it quick Qrow. I'd rather not be here with her."

The woman Hiccup hadn't met glared at him. "You should show her some respect."

Hiccup rolled his eyes at that. "Shall I call you Glynda Jr? You seem just like her. You have mastered glaring at people like she usually does." Hiccup deadpanned and the woman bristled. She was about to retort but Qrow beat her to the punch.

"I would usually be rooting for you after that kid. But you don't want to make her too mad." Qrow commented.

"If Raven would get to the 'good news' then I wouldn't have to." Hiccup snapped.

"Done bothering Vernal Hiccup?" Raven asked but Hiccup became silent, instead choosing to respond with a nod.

"I'll move on then. The good news is the person who stabbed that blond boy was captured by me. Complete a task for me and you can have her."

"Her?" Hiccup asked, making sure he had heard correctly.

"Yes, her. A chameleon Faunus girl."

"Huh. Interesting. I think we've met already."

Hiccup then did a double take. "…Wait why did you capture her?"

"Still not figured that out? Ok, I'll tell you. It was for bragging rights."

"Bragging rights?"

"Yes. I can rub in the fact that neither you nor Atlas caught the person that attacked the Arc boy, and you know it. It's the same reason I saved Astrid."

"…"

"Speechless? That's a first."

"You've just changed what I thought about you. Wow, you can do good things. I'm going to need to think about that." Hiccup said while everyone present ignored Qrow when he commented: "That's my sister for you Hiccup."

"What is the task you want me to complete?" Hiccup asked.

Raven stood up. "If I told you now, the surprise would be ruined. Follow me."

"I want to see the girl first," Hiccup said. "Come on Toothless."

The Dragon perked up at hearing his name and followed Hiccup and Raven out of the tent again.

Raven lead Hiccup to a small tent. Lifting up the tent flap revealed a cage with a familiar Faunus inside. Ilia's mask was gone and she had no weapon, likely confiscated by Raven. Her eyes met Raven's and she glared at her, but Raven wasn't bothered.

Toothless pushed past Hiccup and stared at Ilia before pressing against her cage. Ilia shrieked in surprise and fear before pushing herself against the back of the cage she was trapped in and tried to avoid paying attention to Toothless' curious stare.

"What is that?!"

"It's a dragon," Hiccup deadpanned. "His name is Toothless. Come over here bud." Toothless obliged, heading over to stand next to him and Ilia relaxed slightly.

"How did you capture her?" Hiccup asked Raven.

"Why not use the dragon to get answers out of her?" Raven suggested.

"Why not get the answers out of the one who did it? I think that would take less time, don't you?"

"You know I won't tell you that. I have better things to do than tell you how I captured her. Besides, you can figure it out." Raven replied, before walking back to her tent.

"Oh for the love of…" he cut himself off and turned to Ilia, who looked amused.

"Trouble in paradise?" she teased.

Ilia went ignored. "I want answers, and you will give them to me."

"Or what?" she said, trying to appear defiant.

"Toothless?" The dragon's mouth opened and he started charging up a blast.

"You're going to want to use your aura." Hiccup warned before Toothless fired at the door of the cage, blowing it clean off its hinges.

Ilia looked at Hiccup with a fearful expression. "Are you going to answer my questions or will I need Toothless again?"

Raven approached before Ilia could say anything. "What happened?" she demanded after taking notice of the broken cage.

"I used Toothless to try and get answers out of her. Don't worry, I'll fix that for you later. I'm a blacksmith after all." Hiccup said.

"Ok then. I'll leave you to that." Raven shrugged and walked away, not really seeing a problem there.

"So what is it going to be Ilia?" Hiccup asked the Faunus girl. She remained silent so he turned to Toothless. "Toothless?" the dragon charged up another blast.

"A-alright, fine, I-I'll tell you what you want to know! Just don't let the dragon fire at me again!"

Hiccup nodded at Toothless and the dragon fired a blast into the sky. "First Question: when did you get to Atlas?" Hiccup asked.

"A few days ago."

"Ok. Why did you attack Jaune?"

"To show you that the Faunus are to be respected. That we are superior to humans." Ilia snarled.

"Yeah. Superior enough that you decided to kill people - both human and Faunus civilians - when you attacked the Amity Colosseum. That won't make Faunus respected. That will make them feared, and it will lead to a war. And if that does happen, there goes any chance at having Faunus seen as equal."

"You don't know that. You don't know what it's like to be looked down on." Ilia snapped.

"I do actually. I was bullied for years - by my own cousin - for not being strong like him or almost everyone else in my village. Why do you think I was given the name 'Hiccup'? It's an insult. It is given to people, like me, who aren't muscular or strong."

"Then you understand why we do what we do. You should be helping us."

Hiccup let out a humourless laugh. "Just because I understand why you all do what you do, doesn't mean I agree with it. The White Fang murder and steal, which doesn't give the Faunus who aren't a member of the group a good name."

"They deserve it."

Hiccup sighed. "Last question: where is Adam right now?"

"I won't tell you."

Hiccup turned to Toothless but Ilia spoke up before Toothless could fire a blast at her again. "N-No, I mean I don't know! Everyone who goes to see him is blindfolded until they get there and when they leave. Nobody is allowed to find out any more, ever since Adam found out that someone had told the police where he was."

"Huh. Well, that just makes this more difficult. Well, enough questions for you. I think that is all that you know." Hiccup stood up. "Toothless, make sure she doesn't escape."

"W-Wait. Where are you going?" Ilia asked.

"Not really any of your business you know. Have fun with Toothless." Hiccup said without turning around, walking back to Raven's tent.

'I wonder what the task that Raven wants me to complete is' Hiccup wondered.

* * *

Back in Atlas Academy, Ironwood walked into the infirmary room soon after he had heard Jaune Arc had been injured.

He noticed the boy in question was asleep in a bed with the well known Mistrali tournament champion - Pyrrha Nikos - laying next to him on the bed, while the others she had come to Atlas with were standing nearby.

Pyrrha's eyes, which had been closed moments before, opened as if she had sensed him looking at her.

"General Ironwood," Pyrrha said.

"Miss Nikos." he greeted. "I heard Mister Arc was injured. How are you feeling?"

"Angry…I want to know who hurt him. My team and I want to find this person. Can we leave Atlas Academy to do it?"

"Well…" Ironwood began

* * *

"No," Pyrrha said firmly after hearing what General Ironwood had suggested. She was now in his office with her team and Ruby after being reassured by the infirmary staff in Atlas Academy that Jaune would be okay.

"Miss Nikos please…"

"I said no General. With all due respect, I'm not the most trusting of the Atlas military right now. You let someone get into Atlas Academy and stab my boyfriend and team leader."

"I-"

"You didn't even know he was stabbed until the staff told you. What makes you think I would trust you to find whoever injured him?"

"I'm with her on that," Nora added, glaring at Ironwood while Ren pinched the bridge of his nose.

Ironwood did the same. "Well, that's my offer. You can look around to find whoever attacked your friend but Winter must go with you."

"Well, it seems I won't get what I want." Pyrrha stood up. "Goodbye General," Pyrrha said before leaving the room, her team and Ruby following suit.

"What are we going to do now?" Nora asked.

"We're going to find who attacked Jaune on our own," Pyrrha replied confidently

Ruby, Ren and Nora noticed the tone that Pyrrha had spoken with and they fell into a comfortable silence as they walked back to their room.

* * *

Hiccup jumped back just as the stinger made contact with the tree trunk behind where he had just been standing.

The Deathstalker roared at Hiccup and tried to move its stinger again for another strike in his direction.

"This is your surprise Raven?! Me fighting a giant Grimm Scorpion?! I thought you didn't want me dead!" Hiccup shouted.

"I don't. But this is the initiation for new tribe members that know how to fight already. Don't disappoint me!" Raven replied from the cliff she was standing on that happened to be both a few meters above and behind him.

"Easy for you to say!" Hiccup retorted.

The Deathstalker succeeded in moving its stinger again, now advancing on Hiccup.

The Deathstalker shoved trees out of the way while Hiccup whistled and heard an answering roar before the Deathstalker was hit by a purple explosion.

Caught off guard, the scorpion was knocked off balance by the explosion while it roared in anger as it was knocked on its side and tried to get up.

"Nice job bud!" Hiccup said, glancing at Toothless who gave a happy roar as he flew past above them.

"I didn't say you could use your dragon," Raven said.

"You didn't say I couldn't either, or much about the rules at all." Hiccup replied, approaching the scorpion.

"Fair enough," Raven commented. "Try not to rely on the dragon too much though."

Hiccup reached the scorpion that was still stuck on its side and cut through its unarmoured underside. The Deathstalker gave a final pain filled roar before Toothless fired a shot as Hiccup walked away and the scorpion was hit. It began to dissipate, turning into a black mist which disappeared.

Hiccup returned to Raven on top of the small cliff.

"I should have thought of the dragon, but I did agree that you would receive the Faunus girl if you completed the task. Let's head back before Atlas think you've gone missing."

Hiccup nodded and signalled for Toothless to land and follow them.

They returned to the tribe's camp where Vernal, Qrow and a bound Ilia were waiting.

"He completed the task. Hand her over." Raven ordered Vernal. Vernal nodded and shoved Ilia forward.

Toothless pushed past Hiccup and crooned at her, but she took a nervous step back.

A red portal appeared nearby. "This is where we part ways. Time for you to head back to Atlas." Hiccup nodded and walked toward the portal, making Ilia and Toothless walk ahead of him.

When Hiccup, Toothless and Ilia were gone, Raven turned to Qrow. "You're going as well."

"And see ol' Ironwood? I'd rather not."

Raven glared at him while she and Vernal drew their weapons. "Alright, alright, I'll go then sis. Geez." Qrow said, raising his arms in a placating manner.

* * *

Qrow walked through the portal and found himself in a room with team JNPR, Hiccup, Ruby and Toothless as well as Ilia. Qrow was struck by a red blur as soon as Ruby noticed him.

"Uncle Qrow!" she squealed, wrapping her arms around his arm in a tight grip.

He tried not to wince at how tight the grip was. "Hey, kiddo. Wait, aren't you meant to be with Taiyang back home?"

Ruby looked away in embarrassment as she remembered her father, and soon she had left the room in a flurry of rose petals.

"Shouldn't you go talk to her?" Hiccup asked, glancing at the petals on the floor. "And maybe apologise to the school cleaners or something."

"Later. I think we should go deal with her first." Qrow said, eyeing Ilia. "Like bring her to Ironwood."

"Good idea." They both then left the room, taking Ilia with them.

Arriving at Ironwood's office, Hiccup knocked on the door once and entered when Ironwood invited them in.

"Hiccup, Qrow." Ironwood greeted, although he said Qrow's name with much less enthusiasm than Hiccup's. "What can I do for you?"

"We've found the person who attacked Jaune."

"Who?" Ironwood asked, curiously.

Hiccup turned around and shoved Ilia forward. "Her."

"Are you sure?" Ironwood asked as he eyed the chameleon Faunus, slightly doubtful of the news.

"Yes. Raven mentioned she caught her." Qrow answered.

"Raven was here?"

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, she wanted me to kill a deathstalker in return for bringing her here."

Ironwood leaned back in his chair, looking thoughtful. "Interesting. If we brought the Faunus girl to the next council meeting, then it could convince them to help Vale." Ironwood mused.

"When is the next council meeting?" Hiccup asked.

"In about an hour. You might want to get ready."

* * *

The room where the Atlas Council's meetings took place seemed designed in such a way as to intimidate anyone speaking in the centre. Instead of an open room with people acting more or less as equals, gathered around a large round table like council meetings back on Berk, it more resembled a gladiatorial arena, circular with numerous booths of varied height, a single person – sometimes two – sat in each.

The ground floor was reserved for an equal mix of the media and Atlas soldiers, most of which stood at attention backs against the wall. Winter stood in front of the regular soldiers, in a group with the other specialists. Ilia was in handcuffs and she was clearly not pleased to be there, judging by the frown on her face as she stood in front of Winter.

There was a small cordoned off area that news crews stood behind, filming silently. There were no reporters in the room, likely to prevent their voices or questions speaking over the Council. Of the Council itself, every member was present. There was a mixture of figures from the military, business and other backgrounds.

Hiccup scanned the room while he waited for the Council meeting to begin.

He was about to ask General Ironwood - who was standing in a booth opposite him and was talking to some people Hiccup didn't recognise - a question.

"Ahem," someone – a tall and wiry man in a fancy uniform – coughed loudly before Hiccup had the chance.

"May the esteemed members of the Council of Atlas return to their seats as the session begins." He held a firm pose as the noise died down, Ironwood being the only one Hiccup knew who had to return to his seat. Once the General had sat down, the man continued.

"The Council of Atlas is now in session. The Council recognises Hiccup, as a visiting councilman of Vale." The room became silent immediately after hearing that.

"Is he really a councilman?" someone in the room asked. This question seemed to trigger everyone else, as they all started speaking at once.

The wiry man who had spoken at first quieted the crowd after a few moments.

"Thank you." Hiccup nodded at the man. "Now, to answer your question. Yes, I am a member of the Vale Council, but not by choice. I was given Ozpin's seat on the council when I heard Ozpin died."

"We haven't heard much from Vale since the CCT went offline, apart from a rumour that the Vale council has asked the local huntsmen to form an anti-terrorism organization and deal with the White Fang. Would you be willing to confirm this rumour?" Someone - a man, who was standing in a booth behind Ironwood - asked Hiccup.

"I… That's the first I've heard of the rumour." Hiccup lied, hoping nobody would notice his brief hesitation."

Another person, this time a woman stood up.

"I'm sure we would all like to know why a councilman from Vale if he is really telling the truth, has come to Atlas." The woman who had spoken looked at him expectantly. Hiccup looked around the room for the woman as she spoke. She was standing in a booth above him. She had lilac eyes, yellow hair that was styled in a bun, she had tanned skin and she was wearing a black business suit.

"It's simple. To request the CCT to be fixed." Hiccup replied.

"Why should we come all the way to Vale to fix something that would be of no benefit to us?" The woman continued.

"It would benefit everyone. It makes communication much easier."

"So? We are doing perfectly fine without the CCT."

"Are you? If you are, then explain why the rumour that was mentioned recently is still going around? If you can communicate fine, then surely the rumour would be found out about."

"Since when have the problems of Vale been our problems?" the woman asked, trying a different approach.

Hiccup stroked his chin as he thought of an answer.

* * *

Sitting at a table in a bar in Atlas, Qrow watched the Atlas council meeting being broadcast live on a TV set up a few meters away, in a corner of the ceiling. He was not one to usually watch this kind of thing, but he was curious to see Hiccup handle being in a council meeting like this for the first time. Qrow wouldn't admit that to Hiccup or anyone else, however.

He looked down at the table in front of him as the drink he had ordered was placed in front of him. He looked up and saw the waitress walking away, but not without winking at him, her lips curled in a smirk.

Smiling in return, he brought the glass on the table to his lips and drank half of the liquid in a large gulp.

"Hello, Qrow." Qrow forced himself not to spit out his drink at the suddenness of her greeting. He swallowed and turned to face her.

"Back so soon? I thought I had driven you off. Maybe there is hope for you to return to your family."

The glare he received from Raven would have frozen the sun. "I'm not here to play games with you Qrow. I am here to give you a warning."

Qrow said nothing in reply, so she continued. "If You or my tribe's newest member decide to reveal that Hiccup is a member of my tribe to Atlas, you will be dead before you can blink."

Qrow blinked at the obvious death threat. His sister had been angry at him before, but this was a first from her.

"Wow," Qrow muttered, surprised. "I'm not sure how to respond to that. Wait, why are you so worried about that? You could move your whole tribe somewhere else before Atlas arrived with any force at all. And that is if General Ironwood did anything at all. I'm sure he has more important stuff to worry about than you and your tribe."

"I have my reasons why Qrow. Don't expect me to tell you." Raven replied.

Qrow was hardly listening to her by now, however, as he was deep in thought. As a result, he completely missed the smirk on her face as Raven unsheathed her sword, created a portal, and left the bar.

'So you can't have General Ironwood know that Hiccup is a member of your tribe, huh?' Qrow thought to himself.

Qrow's hands curled into fists as a thought came to him that answered why Raven didn't want her new recruit discovered.

She wanted to spy on Ironwood. It all made sense now. But was the recruit in question in on it?

Qrow glanced at the TV where the council meeting was still taking place and frowned. He would have to find out later.

* * *

Back in Vale, the team of Huntresses and Hunters at Beacon glanced at each other and readied their weapons when they heard the roar of a bullhead's engines. The noise became louder as the aircraft got nearer before eventually stopping completely.

The noise was heard again a few minutes later before gradually becoming quieter and quieter as the aircraft moved away from Beacon again.

The door to the room opened and two figures entered.

The first figure was a tall young man who looked prepared to fight using raw strength. He had shaved-short black hair and tanned skin, wearing mostly pale-green and brown attire. He was wearing a long short-sleeved robe, with a black muscle shirt underneath. The robe was fastened at the waist by a leather armoured belt with two pouches on it. He was also wearing brown pants and black-and-green boots. He was also wearing armour on his left shoulder that extended to halfway down his arm. His weapon - a huge greatsword with a hooked tip - is affixed to his back with a padded brown strap slung over his shoulder. He also wore a pair of bracers as well as a pair of black gloves with green plates on the back of each.

The second figure was a man the same age as the first figure. Unlike the first figure, however, he was built to move quickly rather than fight using raw strength. He had dark skin and dark, messy copper hair that has a long fringe and a cowlick. He wore a sleeveless, muted orange zipper vest with black lining and a high collar, a pair of black jeans, and brown, laced shoes. His eyes appear to be pure white, giving off the appearance that he is blind. His arms were covered in scars, and he has a vertical scar that crossed both lips. He was also wearing a pair of long black gloves and has several pouches attached to his belt.

"Yatsuhashi? Fox? What are you doing here?" Coco asked, surprised at seeing them arrive out of the blue.

"Coming to visit our team," Yatsuhashi replied. "We decided to keep it a surprise." The tall man then noticed a member of his team wasn't in the room. "Where's Velvet?" he asked

Coco let out a long sigh, and Yatsuhashi and Fox became concerned. "That's kinda a long story," she said.

"We've got time"

"Well…" Coco began but was cut off when the sounds of heavy footsteps were heard approaching the room quickly. "We'll talk later," Coco promised her teammates as she readied her weapon.

* * *

Raven met with Vernal back at her tribe.

"Did he buy it?" she asked.

"Time will tell. But I'm quite sure my dear brother has bought the lie." Vernal nodded.

"So what now?"

"I think it would be a good time to visit my daughter," Raven said, already preparing another portal. Raven left again, this time ending up in a bedroom where Yang was sitting up in bed and staring out of the window.

Raven coughed and Yang slowly turned her head to look at her. Yang froze when she saw Raven, while Raven smirked.

"Hello, Yang. Long time no see." The response Raven received was for Yang's eyes to turn from lilac to red.

* * *

A/N: Next chapter, we'll see more of the council scene, we'll see Raven meeting Yang, who is clearly angry (sparks are going to fly!) and we'll see the rest of the scene in the room at Beacon.

Until Next Time,

Silvolde


	21. Trust Issues

A New World

Chapter 21: Trust Issues

A/N: I'm back! I apologise to everyone who reads my story for the delay, but since I'm now getting near to the start of the final term of my course at college, my time may disappear even more. We shall see, but I hope that won't happen.

I should let you all know that I have updated the summary and cover picture since the last chapter, so be sure to check them both out. The cover picture for the story shows you all the characters who are going to be the most involved in the story for the next few chapters.

I will tell you that I have the end of the story planned out, and the next few chapters will directly influence what happens at the end of the story. (Some of the foundation for that will start in this chapter as well by the way.)

I should also mention that I am planning to include a few more omakes at the end of the chapters to come.

Enjoy, and don't forget to tell me what you thought of the chapter when you all review.

Constructive Criticism is appreciated, I do want to get better at writing.

Now, here we are with chapter 21. We start off with the rest of the Atlas council scene from the last chapter.

* * *

"I think Vale's problems became Atlas's when the White Fang attacked Vale during the Vytal festival." Hiccup replied after deciding on what to say.

"What do you mean by that exactly?" The councilwoman asked, appearing genuinely curious as she asked the question

"I'm saying that there is a chance that the White Fang could attack another kingdom, and there is a chance that it could be Atlas."

"And why do you think the CCT would help in an event like that?" The councilwoman continued.

"It would help if the Atlesian military and the Huntsmen and Huntresses are able to communicate if an attack similar to the one on Vale were to take place."

"And what about the Atlesian Knights? You are aware that these robots were hacked via the CCT correct?"

"Yes," Hiccup nodded

"So do you still think having the CCT online would be a good idea in a scenario like that?"

"Yes, I do. But only if they were not connected to the CCT when in use. That would solve the problem."

"Interesting idea." The woman mused. "You certainly make a persuasive case that was most certainly original." She glanced pointedly at Ironwood, who winced, before focusing on Hiccup again.

"Nevertheless, I think we should take a short break to consider your idea. We will let you know if your request to have the CCT fixed has been accepted after the break."

The woman nodded at the wiry man who had spoken at the beginning of the meeting before she sat down.

"This meeting is adjourned briefly for a short recess." the man said.

The announcement was followed by the large room gradually being filled with the sound of several conversations taking place at once, along with footsteps as people started to leave the hall.

The councilwoman who had spoken to Hiccup, however, remained where she was and began to discuss what to do with Hiccup's request with other councillors, who were sitting in booths nearby.

* * *

Over in her former home in Patch, Raven looked at Yang, her trademark smug smirk present on her face, who was sitting on her bed with her eyes red, indicating her semblance was active.

"Hello, Yang. It's been a long time."

"Who are you, and how do you know my name?" Yang demanded

"My name is Raven. I'm your mother," she replied

"Hello, Raven. Nice to meet you, but you're not my mother. Summer is my mum." Yang stated, clenching her fist. "Also, what makes you think you deserve that title? You left us not long after I was born, leaving dad to take care of me."

"Us? You mean you. I don't see Taiyang or Summer's daughter Ruby having an issue with me leaving. You looked for me if I remember correctly, not them. Besides, I wonder how you know I left you and Taiyang, yet you don't know me."

"Because my dad didn't mention what you looked like, or your name for that matter."

"Any other questions?" Raven asked.

"Yes. Why did you leave my dad?"

"I won't tell you that now. I don't think you would like to know the answer. I will, however, tell you that it involves dear old Ozpin."

Yang's eyes narrowed but slowly began to return to their usual lilac colour. "Ok, last question. How do you know that I looked for you?" she demanded.

"I know more about you and your friends than you realise. Like when you met Hiccup, or when he first came to Remnant. Or when he joined my tribe."

"That last bit isn't true!"

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that Yang?"

"Yes."

"Ok." Thinking the conversation was over, Yang turned back to the window on her right in thought. She was brought out of her thoughts when she felt a scroll being placed on her lap. The scroll displayed a picture of Hiccup approaching a large tent.

"Evidence to the contrary eh?" Raven smirked as Yang's eyes widened when she looked at the picture.

"Tell me. What do you know about Hiccup?"

"I… I know…" she stammered before pausing and looking away from the picture to focus on Raven, her eyes narrowing again. "Wait, why are you telling me this now?"

"Hmm? Because I know it would hurt you to realise that he has been working for me for years. Even before he met Ozpin."

"Really?" Raven nodded. "Also, did he ever mention that he knew Junior couldn't tell you where I was?"

"What?" Yang blinked at the sudden change of topic in the conversation. Raven ignored the question however and pressed on.

"Hiccup only sent you to Junior because he knew for certain Junior didn't know where I was."

"I don't believe you. Hiccup would never work for you. He is nothing like you."

"That might be true," Raven conceded. "But he clearly knows who I am, or at the very least he knows about my tribe. I think the picture proves that." Raven steps closer as she says this. "Would it be so unbelievable for him to have known me before he met you, and let you go to Junior instead of going to me?"

"I…" Yang stammered. "Why would he send me to Junior if he knew Junior didn't know about you?"

"I can think of a few reasons. The most obvious one being them working together. You could always ask him yourself to find out, you know. I can take you to him."

"Isn't he in a coma right now?"

"No. He was, but he is awake now." Raven stood up and a portal was created moments later. "I can take you to see him if you want. Coming?" Raven asked and smiled inwardly when Yang got out of bed almost immediately.

Yang stepped through the portal first and the portal closed when Raven walked through.

Moments later, the door to Yang's room opened and her father, Taiyang entered, carrying a tray with breakfast on top.

He took one look at the now empty bed and the tray he was holding dropped to the ground. "Not again. First Ruby, now Yang," he said before he let out a long-suffering sigh.

* * *

Back in Atlas, Ironwood and Hiccup both left the hall, entering a smaller room. Smaller compared to the council chambers; it was still quite big. Various people were milling around the room and helping themselves to coffee and tea and other food as it was being served in one corner of the room.

"So how long is a break here usually?" Hiccup asked Ironwood

"An hour," Ironwood replied. "I need to speak to Winter about our white fang guest. Wait here." he then walked back into the council chambers.

Hiccup's scroll then began to ring.

"Hey kiddo" a voice spoke.

"Qrow, do you call everyone around my age 'kiddo'?"

"No. I call Yang 'firecracker' sometimes."

"That isn't very different." Hiccup pointed out. "What is it anyway?"

"Are you spying on Ironwood?" he asked bluntly.

"No," Hiccup paused. "Why?"

"Raven said, and I quote, 'If you or my tribe's newest member decide to reveal that Hiccup is a member of my tribe to Atlas, you will be dead before you can blink'"

"Your sister conveniently left out the fact that I would do anything to leave her tribe, and I only joined because she threatened to hurt a friend of mine when she told you that, didn't she?"

"Yes, she did. So you're not a spy?"

"No. Even if I was, I would never spy for Raven willingly."

"That's good to hear," Qrow replied, sounding relieved.

There was a pause before Qrow spoke again. "I guess I will leave you to do… whatever you're doing right now." He said before he hung up.

Hiccup then selected another number. It rang for a few moments before a pre-recorded message started playing.

"Son of a half-troll, I'm busy right now! Please leave a message and I will call you back."

Hiccup became aware of the stares that he was receiving and awkwardly tried to ignore them.

'Please stop staring everyone' he thought as he looked around the room.

Hiccup was about to call Pyrrha next, to see how Jaune was doing when a red portal formed in front of him.

Raven and Yang stepped outside, immediately drawing the attention of everyone else in the room. Everyone else went ignored as they both approached Hiccup.

"Hello Yang, Raven," he greeted while sounding annoyed when he mentioned the latter's name. "What are you doing here Yang?" Hiccup asked, focusing on her completely.

"Sounds like you don't want to see me," Yang said

"Oh, I have no problem with you being here, as I heard that you've become… distant recently, so it is good to know that isn't the case right now. I'm simply wondering if Taiyang knows you're here"

Yang didn't answer, looking away in embarrassment instead as she let the silence answer for her.

"Right." Hiccup sighed and faced Raven. "Can-"

"No," Raven said immediately. "I'm not going back to see Taiyang again."

"I was simply going to say that I could tell Taiyang where Yang is." Hiccup drawled, rolling his eyes. "Don't be so dramatic Raven."

Raven shook her head with a sigh. "Alright, go on then."

Hiccup approached the portal and walked straight through. He returned a few minutes later.

"Alright, Taiyang agreed to let you stay here Yang, but only because Qrow is here and is able to keep an eye on you. You can go now Raven unless you have something else to do?"

"I'll be bringing that cage you broke later. I expect you to fix it soon." Raven said before leaving.

"Right, she's gone now. Finally. So what is the reason for this visit?" Hiccup asked Yang when Raven's portal disappeared and they were no longer the sole interest of the room.

Yang blinked. "You… don't like Raven?"

"What gave you the idea that I did?" Hiccup asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Raven said-"

"What is it with your family immediately believing her? First Qrow and now you. You know she is in charge of a tribe of bandits right? Not exactly trustworthy people. At least not the last time I checked." Hiccup replied, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Yang's eyes turned red, and she clenched her fist. "If what I've heard from Raven is true, you're not the most trustworthy person right now either."

Hiccup was prevented from replying by the return of Ironwood. "Are you two ok?" He asked. "Judging by what I just heard, a fight was about to start. Also, should I ask how Miss Xiao Long got here?" Ironwood asked

"Raven brought her here, and we should be fine for now. I'm not looking to fight her." Hiccup replied, "Do you have someone who can keep an eye on her?"

"Is that really necessary? She seems able to take her of herself." Ironwood stated

"She destroyed a bar the last time she was this angry."

"That was one time!" Yang protested. "Why do you keep bringing that up? Besides, the owner was a criminal"

"Who you knocked unconscious when he accidentally tore a few hairs."

"…Only briefly" Yang protested again, this time only halfheartedly

"Alright, I get it. Don't start fighting you too. I'll assign one of my men to keep an eye on her." Ironwood sighed

* * *

Qrow was still at the same bar in Atlas when he heard small footsteps approach him.

Turning, he saw a young boy standing behind him. Qrow looked him up and down

The boy had black hair and eyes that were green with accents of burnt orange and yellow.

He was wearing a dirty and scuffed white shirt that laces across the chest. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and there is a pocket on the left tricep.

Orange suspenders were holding up his olive pants, which were tucked into worn, brown boots.

The pants are patched over the knee, and a quilted cloth hangs loosely out of his left pocket. He wears orange gloves, with green straps overlapping across the back of the hand in an X shape, and around the wrist.

"Aren't you a little young to be here?" Qrow asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Shut up. I'm getting to it." The boy replied, sounding frustrated

"…I was meant to tell you… I'd like my cane back?" The boy said after a pause, suddenly sounding less confident.

Qrow nodded and reached for the handle of a staff that was strapped to his hip. He pressed a button on the handle and the staff extended to its full length.

"It's good to see you again Oz," Qrow said as he handed the staff to the boy.

The boy's eyes flashed green before he took the staff from Qrow. "I see Hiccup has been busy as of late," Ozpin said as he glanced at the TV attached to the ceiling corner. He was now speaking with his own voice instead of the voice of the boy. "I think it is time for a visit."

"He might not take it so well you know," Qrow warned. "The fact that you can't really be killed will be a bit of a shock."

"I think you're worrying too much Qrow."

"He's been talking to Raven lately you know," Qrow revealed. "She also mentioned he was part of her tribe."

"She could be trying to confuse us. But I guess we will see when we meet Hiccup." The boy's eyes flashed again and the boy looked around in confusion.

"What happened?"

"You left," Qrow said. It wasn't a complete lie. "What's your name kid?"

"Oscar"

"Ok, Oscar. Come with me." Qrow said, rising to his feet and walking to the exit.

'That's Qrow.' Ozpin said as a voice in the boy's mind. 'He used to work for me. You should follow him. There is someone else I want you to meet.'

The boy grumbled internally but complied, running after Qrow. 'After this, can we stop walking? My feet feel like they will fall off at any moment.'

'Soon Oscar. Soon.' Ozpin replied.

* * *

After the break that the council had taken to decide what the response would be to Hiccup's request was over, Hiccup and Ironwood returned to the council chambers to hear their decision.

"We have decided to accept your request. You are permitted to fix the CCT. We will leave it to Ironwood to decide how you both go about this plan." The councilwoman from before announced.

Hiccup nodded with a smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." The woman replied. "I think we're done here unless there are other requests?" she looked around the council chamber room but nobody responded. "Very well then. This meeting is adjourned."

* * *

When Hiccup, Ironwood and Yang finally returned to Atlas Academy, they were greeted by Qrow.

"Hey, Uncle Qrow!" Yang greeted cheerfully.

"Hey firecracker," Qrow replied, ruffling her hair, much to Yang's dismay.

Hiccup and Ironwood, however, focused on the boy who was standing next to him.

"Qrow, is there a reason you've brought a little boy along here?" Ironwood asked.

"That's a bit of a long story, and I don't know if you will believe it, but if you want to hear it, then let's go talk in a room in private," Qrow answered.

"General Ironwood! Sir!" a soldier ran up to him and saluted the General.

"At ease," Ironwood said. "What is it?"

The soldier stepped closer and leaned forward before whispering to him.

Ironwood straightened up when the soldier had stopped talking. "I have to go right now. I'll have to hear your story later Qrow." Ironwood then left, without saying anything else.

Hiccup turned back to face Qrow. "Well, I'm certainly intrigued by this. What is the story? I've got some time now."

* * *

Hiccup blinked, and blinked again, before pinching his hand to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"Nope, still don't believe it. Being able to use magic is one thing, but after I intentionally tried not to think about Ozpin being dead, you're now telling me that Ozpin is basically an immortal parasite?" Hiccup exclaimed, looking at Qrow with an incredulous expression on his face.

Oscar, or Ozpin to be more accurate, coughed awkwardly. "I wouldn't call myself a parasite-"

"But you are." Hiccup cut in. "Even if you don't want to do it, you'll eventually absorb Oscar's soul."

"I'm sure he does though," Yang commented bitterly.

"Alright what is up with you?" Hiccup snapped. "You show up in Atlas, accompanied by Raven. You then get angry at me, after I mention that I hate Raven, and now you have an issue with Ozpin, who made a choice in the past and had no idea that the choice would lead to his current situation."

"Alright, Hiccup. You want to know what's wrong?" Yang asked, her eyes red. "What's wrong is that you are working for Raven, and have been doing so for years."

"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. That's not entirely true-"

"Oh, what is true then, huh? If that's not true then tell me what is."

"Alright. I will. But can I ask that you listen until I finish the story?"

"Go right ahead," Yang replied, leaning back in the chair she was sitting on, with her arms crossed.

"Right, it all started the morning after the operation where I got my prosthetic leg here in Atlas…"

* * *

Over at Beacon, the door was slammed wide open, and Velvet was flung into the room, landing in a heap on the floor.

"Nobody attack!" Coco shouted as soon as she noticed Velvet was unconscious and beaten, with bruises all over her face.

"Did you really think we wouldn't notice a huntress trying to spy on us? Do you really think we are that stupid?" A male voice asked

"Why do you think I sent Ilia here, to face some of the strongest hunters and huntresses in Vale? Did you really think she was supposed to fight you all by herself?" the voice continued, before the person who had been speaking, stepped into the room. The person had red hair and a White Fang mask on his face.

There were also a pair of horns, similar to those found on a bull, that protruded from his head. Coco noticed this as her eyes narrowed on him.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Coco asked

"You don't know who I am?" his tone indicating he was surprised. "That auburn haired human didn't tell you?"

"…Hiccup?" Coco asked

"Is that his name?" The Faunus laughed. "What a pathetic human name."

"What do you want Adam Taurus?" Glynda asked, clearly recognising him as her riding crop glowed purple, a sign her semblance was active.

"I want you to hand your auburn haired friend to me. We have unfinished business. I want him to tell me where Blake Belladonna is," Adam replied.

"That's not going to happen," Coco said.

"Well then. I guess I will just have to fight you." Adam said before drawing his sword.

"But I won't be fighting alone." Adam then adopted a fighting stance after talking. Coco watched as Adam was flanked by six White Fang members, three on either side of him. Each of them drew a gun and aimed at the huntsmen and huntresses in the room.

Coco then heard Yatsuhashi draw his sword. She looked up at him, his eyes flashing with unbridled rage, no doubt having seen the injuries Velvet sported on her face.

"You shouldn't have injured our teammate. I can't promise you'll leave without a scratch."

"I don't think I'll be the one bleeding, but we shall see," Adam replied.

"Nobody interferes. He's mine, and mine alone." The large man warned.

"Don't hurt him too badly Yats. He hasn't dealt with me yet."

The tall samurai smiled at her and nodded, before facing Adam and charging at him, letting everyone know the fight had begun without a word being spoken.

* * *

Yang's mind was reeling from what Hiccup had revealed about his interactions with Raven.

She was now no longer sure who to trust.

On the one hand, Hiccup should have been the obvious choice, but on the other, there was some convincing evidence to, if not trust fully, not dismiss entirely.

In other words, she knew she should believe Hiccup, as she had known him for longer than her biological mother, but Raven had evidence to suggest that Hiccup was lying, that Raven hadn't forced him to work for her in order to keep Astrid safe, and he was instead working for her willingly.

"This is a lot to take in Hiccup. I'll need time to think about it." Yang said when it became clear that no one else was going to speak up.

Yang then stood up and left the room, without waiting for a reply.

"You're in a big mess right now Hiccup," Ozpin stated unhelpfully.

"Oh, am I?" Hiccup retorted dryly. "I wasn't aware that this is all a big mess. Thank you for stating the obvious."

"But I have some good news for you." Ozpin continued speaking, acting like he hadn't heard Hiccup say anything. "I have a plan: You help me find the Fall maiden."

"Does this plan involve leaving Atlas and everyone from Beacon behind?"

"…Yes."

"Then no deal." Oscar looked slightly frustrated before he hid the expression behind a forced smile.

"Why not?"

"Because Glynda, Port and Oobleck and a few other people are currently waiting for me to come back to Beacon. I'm not going to leave them behind just to find someone who is most likely far away and doesn't want to be found."

"This would let you escape Raven. Why not do it?"

"It won't let me escape Raven, or are you forgetting about her semblance? It lets her go practically anywhere in Remnant. And even if it didn't, what would I tell everyone who came here with me? 'Sorry about my sudden plan to leave you all behind. I'm leaving to go find someone who just so happens to have magical powers. You'll need to find your own way home.' I'm sure that would go well." Hiccup said sarcastically.

"The Fall maiden could kill people!" Ozpin snapped, losing his temper.

"And the White Fang can't?" Hiccup countered. "They destroyed the Amity Colosseum and brought it down on top of Vale. Meanwhile, the Fall maiden killed you, yet not really since you came back, and you're now living in the body of a fourteen-year-old boy. Which do you think is more dangerous? A terrorist organisation that is determined to kill humans, or a person who killed you, and only you, before leaving with her new powers?"

Hiccup stood up when Ozpin said nothing in reply.

"If you want me to help you find this Fall maiden, then help me deal with the White Fang and Raven first." Hiccup then left the room.

Qrow burst out laughing when Hiccup was gone, to Ozpin's chagrin.

"Oh shut up Qrow. You didn't help when I was trying to convince Hiccup."

"I couldn't have helped," Qrow said when he had stopped laughing. "The kid's right. The White Fang is more dangerous than the Fall Maiden, at least in the eyes of everyone who was watching the Vytal festival."

"Do you have objections to me trying to convince your nieces to help me with this task?"

"At the moment, yes. Yang has a lot to think about and she has to come to terms with losing her arm, while Ruby has to talk to Yang about her situation. I think they need to reconcile. They haven't really talked to each other since Yang lost her arm. Forcing them to work together on top of that won't help them."

"How about team JNPR then?"

"I wouldn't suggest you pick them either. I heard their team leader is injured at the moment, and Pyrrha Nikos might have objections to working with you again, considering what you tried to have her do at the Vytal festival. I would, however, suggest you help Hiccup in some way, either with Raven or with the White Fang."

Ozpin sighed. "This really is a mess. Alright Qrow, I will think about it."

* * *

Hiccup returned to his dorm room, where he saw Ren sitting on his bed that had been placed against the farthest wall. He was reading a book, and he didn't look up when Hiccup entered the room and stood in front of him.

"Where's Nora?" Hiccup wondered, drawing Ren's attention.

"She's with Pyrrha. Pyrrha is staying with Jaune and waiting for him to wake up." Ren said before focusing on his book again

"Really?" Hiccup deadpanned. "I'm starting to think Pyrrha is a little obsessed with Jaune."

"Agreed" Ren paused and looked at Hiccup. "Who are you?"

Hiccup noticed Ren was looking over his shoulder. He turned and came face to face with Raven.

"She's an uninvited guest, Ren" Hiccup said with a sigh. "What is it now?"

She stepped aside, letting Hiccup see the cage that Toothless had fired at earlier.

"Great." Another sigh. "Well I did promise, but now I wish I didn't. Do you know if there any blacksmiths in Atlas, and where they could be?"

"Do I look like your informant? Get it fixed, I don't care how." Raven said, before making a portal and leaving.

"What was all that about?" Ren asked.

"That was me being unlucky. It's been happening more often lately."

As if tempting fate, Ironwood entered the room. He noticed the cage.

"What-"

"Don't mention it. If I pretend the cage isn't there, then maybe I can forget who brought it here, and how I am under her thumb."

"Who-"

"Don't even ask." Hiccup said his tone warning.

"Alright, I won't," Ironwood said, raising his hands in a placating manner.

"What were you going to tell me?"

Ironwood hesitated before complying. "Your friend, the blond-haired one with the axe. She's been captured by the White Fang. They say they want Ilia to be released and they will let her go free."

"And the day just gets better and better." Hiccup sighed again.

"Do you have a plan?" Hiccup then asked.

"Yes."

"Then I am coming with you."

"That's not going to happen."

"You don't have a choice in the matter Ironwood." Hiccup replied, holding up his hands, one on fire and the other sparkling with electricity.

"And neither does the White Fang. I presume they've announced where they want to meet us?"

"Yes," Ironwood said, not looking away from Hiccup's hands.

"Then let's go." Hiccup said.

"What are you planning to do?" Ren wondered

"To bring Astrid back here, preferably without giving Ilia back to them."

"How will you do that?" Ironwood asked

Hiccup eyed Toothless, who was sleeping near his bed on the other side of the room. Ironwood and Ren looked at Toothless and they both put two and two together.

"That's risky because they don't want to meet at night. They'll notice you coming a mile away." Ironwood replied

"Right. Well, I still have a plan B that could work."

"What is plan B?" Ren asked.

"I'll tell you on the way, if you want to come of course" Hiccup replied. Ren shrugged. "Not much to do here." he admitted. "You might want to bring Nora along though. She gets restless when she is bored."

Hiccup nodded. "Ok. Tell me, Ren, does Nora have a fear of mice by any chance?"

"No… why?" Ren asked.

"You'll find out soon enough." Hiccup replied.

Ren looked at Ironwood in confusion, who simply shrugged, since he was as confused as Ren was.

* * *

Hiccup, Ren, Nora and Ironwood arrived at the specified meeting place in a spare truck with the Atlas military insignia painted on the side.

"Do you think they will be suspicious of the truck considering there are only three of us here, and the truck can carry more people?" Hiccup asked nobody in particular.

"They might. They might not. We'll see." Ironwood answered

A few minutes later, the roar of a vehicle with a large engine could be heard approaching them. A big SUV, painted white then came to a stop within walking distance of the truck.

"That's one of ours!" Ironwood exclaimed. "They stole that from the Atlesian military!"

Ironwood was then shushed by both Hiccup and Ren as some White Fang members approached, lead by a Faunus who wielded a chainsaw. A bound and gagged Astrid was dragged along with them and the four of them, including Astrid, stood in a line.

Astrid's eyes widened when she met Hiccup's gaze.

Ironwood turned and signalled the driver of the truck, who nodded and signalled a soldier sitting inside the truck in turn. The rear doors of the truck opened and a bound Ilia was brought over to them by Winter Schnee, who had been waiting in the truck.

The Atlas Specialist stood beside Ironwood and manoeuvred Ilia to stand in front of her.

'And so it begins' Hiccup thought to himself, eyeing the White Fang members standing a few meters away.

* * *

A/N: The rest of this scene and the fight scene between Adam Taurus and Yatsuhashi with some big stuff planned to come over the next few chapters.

Until Next Time,

Silvolde


	22. An Intervention

A New World

Chapter 22: An Intervention

A/N: This will likely be the last chapter that will come out for a while since I have an exam to pass in May that requires me to study quite a bit. It's annoying to delay this more, especially since I'm getting to the part of the story I'm most excited to write, but that's College I guess.

Before I get started, I am going to recommend a story I am working alongside another writer on. It's called Gustav: A Rise of a King Story by dilloncoll, which I am beta reading for. He also has a discord server that some of you might like to join.

* * *

The chosen place for the hostage swap was in a part of the kingdom far away from Atlas Academy. The landscape was dominated by hills laden with snow and there was a cloudless sky that was gradually becoming more and more orange and red as the sun started to set.

An axe that was broken in two, the blade and handle split apart, was dropped on the ground in the gap that separated the two groups as they faced each other.

The first group consisted of four members of the White Fang - three regular members and their leader, who held a chainsaw in both hands - and the second consisted of Ren, Nora, Hiccup, Ironwood and Winter, not including Ilia and Astrid, who were both hostages.

The truck they arrived in was on Winter's left, she was the closest to it. Everyone besides Hiccup was looking at the White Fang. He was staring at the pieces of the axe that was between the two groups.

Hiccup recognised the axe as Astrid's, and the girl in question clearly as well.

Astrid struggled in the grasp of her captors, trying to get free and reach her axe, but only succeeded in receiving a blow to her back that brought her to her knees.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Ironwood said.

"You're not really in a position to tell us what to do General." The Faunus wielding the chainsaw spat the words with thinly veiled disgust. "Not when we have a hostage here."

"Are you forgetting that we have a hostage as well?" Hiccup asked, gesturing to Ilia, and the Faunus' gaze turned to him as if noticing him for the first time.

"You're the councillor from Vale. Why are you here?"

Hiccup glanced at Ilia. "She hasn't told you? We met each other at Beacon before she attacked a friend of mine."

"As for why I'm here, you have another friend of mine. Someone I've known for longer than anyone else here. I want her back."

"You will hand Ilia over first."

"No." Hiccup said firmly as his semblance activated, one hand on fire, the other sparkling with electricity. "When you attack and kidnap the people I care about, you don't get to make demands," Hiccup snarled.

"I will not be swayed by some human." the Faunus with the chainsaw said defiantly, glaring at Hiccup.

The response that came was the sound of weapons being drawn, as the group readied their weapons.

"I don't think it would be a good idea to push your luck," Hiccup said. "My patience with the White Fang is quickly running thin, and I'm sure I can say the same of everyone else here."

"Let Ilia go free and we can go on our way." The Faunus replied.

"Still making demands?" Hiccup asked. "Well don't say I didn't warn you." He turned and nodded at Ren and Nora, who advanced on the group opposite without a word.

Nora swung her hammer at the man holding the chainsaw. She moved quickly, intending to hit him square in the chest, he barely had enough time to block the swing with the chainsaw in his grasp.

The blow drove the air from his lungs and Ren followed up the act with a swift punch to the face. The Faunus' head was slammed back before he spat out a tooth as a result of the punch. "That was for the people who you killed in Vale," Ren said, for once his face displaying anger instead of his usual unwaveringly neutral expression.

Hiccup made his way over to the Faunus, delivering his own punch to his face. "And that was for Jaune." Hiccup said, before going behind him and delivering a blow to the back of his head, knocking him out while the Faunus was still in a daze from the punches he received to the face. The Faunus fell face first on the snowy ground.

"Anyone else?" Hiccup then asked, moving to stand next to Ren and Nora again before looking around. The three remaining goons, not including Ilia, rushed him at once, whilst Astrid stood unguarded.

The first one threw a punch at Hiccup with a growl. Hiccup ducked under the fist, responding with a kick to the goon's chest.

The kick had been using his prosthetic leg, making the man collide with the second one behind him, bringing them both done like bowling pins.

The third and final goon snarled at Hiccup, only to receive a punch to the face, disorienting him. Hiccup took the opportunity to draw his axes, letting them turn into pistols and aiming at the goons, one aimed at the two that were getting back up, and the one that had just been punched.

"Do you three want to keep fighting? Because there are a number of people nearby that are better fighters than I am. Or, if you prefer, I can set Nora on you."

The ginger-haired girl that was near Hiccup and standing next to Ren, grinned unnervingly.

"Or you could stop fighting entirely." Nora's evil grin disappeared and a frown took its place at Hiccup's suggestion.

The three goons wisely decided to stop fighting. Ilia was then handed over to them by Winter and her wrists were untied.

Hiccup then picked up the unconscious Faunus and passed him to one of the goons, before looking at the chainsaw on the ground in front of him.

Hiccup picked it up. "What is this?" He asked.

"You don't know?" Ironwood asked, looking at him in surprise.

"No. Should I?"

"It's called a chainsaw," Ironwood said. "It's used for cutting things." He then took it from Hiccup's grasp and turned it on to demonstrate.

"That's interesting." Hiccup admitted. Ironwood handed the chainsaw to one of the other goons who were nearby. "Take this and leave," Ironwood said his voice firm. The three goons obeyed, returning to the vehicle that they had arrived in and taking off with the tires squealing in the process.

Hiccup then made his way over to Astrid when his semblance was no longer active.

He untied her bound wrists and removed the cloth from her mouth that prevented her from speaking.

"You okay?" Hiccup asked Astrid.

"Y-yeah," she said, sounding slightly shaken as she clung to him, in order to stand up. "Thanks. And remind me never to make you too angry." Astrid replied with a teasing undertone.

"Don't mention it, and I didn't plan on getting angry. You could say I've had a lot on my plate recently," Hiccup replied, watching Ironwood and Winter talking to each other. As a result, he missed Astrid's curious expression as she wondered what he meant by 'having a lot on his plate'.

"Are you able to stand on your own?" Hiccup asked Astrid, looking at her again.

"Of course." came the indignant reply from Astrid.

"Then why are you still holding onto me?" Hiccup asked with an eyebrow raised.

Astrid let go of him as if he were on fire, causing him to stumble and nearly be sent sprawling to the ground at the sudden action.

Hiccup watched Astrid as she moved away from him, refusing to meet his gaze, her cheeks turning pink.

"Women," Nora commented from nearby, drawing Hiccup's attention away from Astrid, who took the chance to pick up the broken pieces of her axe.

"You're a girl as well." Hiccup pointed out

Nora didn't reply, smiling instead.

Hiccup looked at Ren, who shrugged. "Nora is Nora. I gave up trying to understand her a long time ago. You should do the same."

Ironwood coughed pointedly. "I think we should head back to Atlas Academy. Everyone except Hiccup of course."

Ironwood nodded in Winter's direction, who mirrored the action before approaching the truck and opening the rear doors.

"Wait, why isn't Hiccup coming back with us?" Astrid asked.

Toothless trotted out of the truck while Hiccup and Ironwood exchanged glances.

"Well, we don't know where the White Fang is hiding in Atlas, and since they injured Jaune and captured you recently, I came up with the idea to follow them using Toothless here." Hiccup replied, pointing to his dragon.

"There's no way I'm letting you do that," Astrid said defiantly.

"You don't have a choice, Astrid. I'm not going to wait for the White Fang to attack or kidnap someone else." Hiccup said before sitting on Toothless' saddled back.

"Then I'm coming with you" Astrid replied, her voice firm.

Hiccup rubbed the bridge of his nose with an exasperated sigh.

"Absolutely not Astrid. We're sticking to the plan." Astrid stared incredulously at Hiccup.

"Don't give me that look. You're unarmed, and unless you can learn how to fight using my axes, or anyone else's weapon in the next five minutes, there is no way you're coming with me." Hiccup then turned to Ironwood. "Take everyone back to Atlas Academy. I'll find out where they're hiding." Hiccup said.

"Go on then. I'll take care of everything here." Ironwood replied. Hiccup nodded and instructed Toothless to fly once Astrid was escorted back to the truck by Winter.

Astrid tried and failed to get free from the taller Woman's grasp.

"Hiccup! Don't do this! Let me come with you!" Astrid shouted but went ignored by Hiccup. Astrid then tried even harder to escape Winter's grip, all to no avail before being shoved into the back of the truck. Winter climbed in after her, followed soon after, by Ren, Nora and Ironwood before the truck drove off. Toothless then leapt into the air with a beat of his wings.

Later on, Hiccup and Toothless watched from atop a snow-covered hill as the car came to a stop at a gate with a guard checkpoint alongside. A White Fang looked inside the car before signalling them to go on ahead. The car then drove past the gate when it opened before heading along a road that disappeared underground.

"Great," Hiccup muttered with a sigh. "Well, I'll tell Ironwood the news."

Hiccup took out his scroll and dialled Ironwood's number.

"Hiccup." Came Ironwood's voice. "Found them, I assume?"

"Yes and no." Hiccup said.

"Oh? Do explain."

"I know where the White Fang is, but their base is underground. There's no way of knowing how many are there, or how big the base is unless I go inside."

"Underground, you say? A smart choice on their part. Credit where credit is due. If you wish to go inside and find out more about the base, then feel free to do so. It is, however, unnecessary and I would rather you didn't."

"Don't worry. I have an idea how to get in that they wouldn't expect."

"Well if you're sure about that, then I'll let you proceed."

"I'm sure."

"Alright then. Good luck." Ironwood said before the call ended.

* * *

In the room that the teachers were in - the cafeteria - over at Beacon, Adam and Yatsuhashi lunged at each other wordlessly, signalling the start of their fight. Yatsuhashi swung his sword down at Adam but met nothing but air, his opponent already having moved out of the way.

Yatsuhashi swung again, this time succeeding in catching Adam's mask with the hook on the end of his greatsword. He pulled his sword back, the white mask coming with it, still stuck to the edge.

Yatsuhashi looked at Adam and was surprised by what he saw. The bull Faunus had the letters 'SDC' branded over one eye. The letters standing for Schnee Dust Company.

Adam lunged forward with a snarl, moving quickly and appearing as a black blur. He snatched his mask from the end of Yatsuhashi's sword before running out of range of any possible blow from the giant man.

Yatsuhashi didn't move, still looking at the brand over Adam's left eye. Adam wasted no time in delivering a flurry of fast strikes, succeeding in knocking the sword out of his grasp after the last strike.

Meanwhile, Coco and Glynda were busy dealing with the White Fang goons that had arrived with Adam.

Two of them ran at Coco, forcing her to use her handbag as a weapon. She didn't want to turn her handbag into a Gatling gun as she usually would, just in case she hit her teammate by accident.

She swung at one goon, the edge of her handbag connecting with her opponent's torso and ridding him of air.

He doubled over to catch his breath, leaving her to deal with her other opponent.

She looked over and barely had time to duck a swipe that had been aimed at her neck. Coco responded with a kick to the groin, downing her opponent just in time for Coco and Glynda - who had dealt with her four opponents by this time - to hear the sound of Yatsuhashi's large sword hit the ground with a loud clatter.

Adam stepped closer, about to attack his recently disarmed opponent but was prevented from doing so by a hail of bullets erupting around him, all being fired from Coco's gun. He retreated back from Yatsuhashi and Coco stopped firing at him once she decided her teammate was safe for the moment.

Glynda raised her riding crop, now glowing purple and glared at Adam while Yatsuhashi rose to his feet and picked up his sword.

"I suggest you surrender, Adam Taurus. Unless you wish to deal with all of us." Glynda said.

Adam saw that four of the six White Fang goons he had come with had been knocked unconscious, and lay in a heap against the closest wall of the room. They had been knocked aside when Glynda had used her semblance. Of the two who remained, both had been downed by Coco during her fight but were now standing up again and staring warily at Coco's Gatling gun.

Adam stared at Glynda with gritted teeth. "It's Huntsmen and Huntresses like you who are the reason the White Fang exist. You claim to be the protectors of Remnant, yet you attack the Faunus ruthlessly."

Coco glanced at Velvet, heavily bruised, however, her injuries were being tended to by Violet Peach, while Fox watched anxiously. He had dragged Velvet away when the fight between Adam and his teammate began and had been ready to step in if Yatsuhashi was incapacitated.

"This is coming from the guy who just had my best friend and partner beaten up. Completely ignoring the fact that she is also a Faunus."

Adam glared at Coco before he grunted in anger and slowly backed away.

"This isn't over. I'll find out where Blake is, and then I'll come back here."

Adam then smiled an evil smile, the words that followed the action slightly unnerved Glynda. "Maybe I'll pay your auburn haired friend in Atlas a visit." The bull Faunus then left the room with the two goons that remained of the six he came with.

"What are we going to do now?" Coco asked Glynda when Adam was gone.

"We're going to find out the location of any bases in Vale that Velvet doesn't know about from our four… guests. Then I'm going to Atlas. I want to make sure Hiccup is safe if Adam does go to Atlas. You will stay here and look after miss Scarlatina. When I'm gone, Oobleck will be in charge." Glynda replied.

Coco nodded and went to see how her teammates were doing.

* * *

Over in Atlas, Hiccup sneezed as Toothless flew away from the hill they had both been on, getting closer to the underground White Fang Base in front of him.

'Why did I sneeze just now? It must be colder out here than I thought.' Hiccup thought to himself.

Toothless landed right outside the guarded gate, and Hiccup drew his weapons before climbing off the dragons' back, moving behind Toothless and quickly turning into a mouse in order to hide.

The gate opened moments later. "Where did he go? And what is that?!" A guard asked his companion. "I have no idea. Maybe we should tell someone inside?"

Hiccup transformed back into a human and got behind the first guard as they were distracted by Toothless.

He hit the guard on the back of the head with the stock of one of his pistols. The Faunus fell to the ground with a thud, alerting the other guard who looked around at Hiccup.

"Hi!" Hiccup said before slapping himself mentally. 'He's the guard at the entrance to a terrorist group's base. He's not going to be nice. I really should stop doing that.'

"Can you do me a favour?"

The guard responded by reaching for his weapon. Hiccup reacted by sweeping his legs out from under him, making the Faunus land on his back at Hiccup's feet.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. I've had a fairly stressful day and my patience is quite low. Now, about that favour. Can you tell me how many people are in there?" Hiccup gestured to the gate.

"Never. Not to some human." The guard snarled.

"For a group of people that want to be considered equal to humans, you do seem rather angry at just about anyone you meet. Anyway, Toothless?"

The dragon responded with a croon. Approaching the guard and opening his mouth, charging up a blast.

The guard became visibly nervous as a result. "What's he doing?!"

"Getting ready to fire. He's known to never miss. We can, however, demonstrate that if you wish. How many are in there?" Hiccup repeated the question.

An alarm started blaring before the guard could reply.

"They will have seen what you did here by now. They'll be here any minute. Do you think you can handle all of us, human?"

Hiccup sighed. "No. But I never wanted to." he whistled and Toothless fired at the guard on Hiccup's command, when he was at a safe distance. The guard was sent flying towards the gate. He hit it before losing consciousness and going limp, collapsing into a heap.

"Let's go Toothless." Hiccup said, but not without checking the second guard for a pulse. He was still alive, to Hiccup's relief, who had been worried for a moment that Toothless' blast had killed him, unlike the time with Ilia, who he knew was safe as she was protected by the cage she was in.

Toothless took off, flying with Hiccup back to the hill they had been on earlier.

Sliding off Toothless back, Hiccup took out his scroll and called Ironwood again.

"I wasn't able to get inside since the gate at the entrance to the base. One of the guards mentioned that I was seen, so I presume there are cameras at the gate."

"Well, I guess it can't be helped. You did your best. Come back to Atlas Academy. I'll assign a team to handle the White Fang." Ironwood replied.

"Ok, I'm on my way." Hiccup hung up. "Let's go bud."

* * *

Toothless landed outside Atlas Academy after the sun had set and the broken moon had risen.

He climbed off Toothless back and led him inside to their shared room. Toothless entered the room and curled up to sleep.

"Can we talk?" Pyrrha said, appearing in the door. Hiccup jumped at hearing her talk suddenly and spun around, hand already reaching for one of his hand axes.

"O-oh. It's just you. What do you want?" Hiccup asked.

"Your friend, Astrid. Jaune and I have noticed that you've been a bit… distant lately. Is everything alright between you two?"

"Everything's fine." Hiccup replied quickly. "I'd rather not talk about it."

Pyrrha sighed. "Alright. Well, follow me. Dr Polendina wants to talk to you."

Hiccup shrugged and followed her as she walked away, wondering what the doctor wanted to talk about.

They arrived at the infirmary and entered the room. Hiccup looked around. He saw Astrid laying on one of the beds with her eyes closed but Dr Polendina wasn't in the room. "I don't see Dr Polendina here."

"He said to tell him when you got here. I'll go get him." Pyrrha said before leaving the room. The door then slammed shut and locked behind him.

Hiccup strode over to the door. "Pyrrha, what are you doing?" Hiccup asked.

"I'm sorry. You should talk to Astrid. She was quite angry earlier. She had to be sedated and she was talking about you in her sleep. I'm keeping this door locked until you sort things out with her." The last sentence was said with confidence, quite a contrast to her usual voice.

"Gotten more confident I see. I like it. Alright, I will talk to her, but I'm not sure how well I can sort things out with her. I said some things I shouldn't have."

"I shoved Jaune into a wall using my semblance. I'm sure you can sort things out with her."

"You don't get it, do you? I'm terrible at dealing with my problems. I tend to run away from them. I ran away from home. I ran away from my family and I've been running away from my best friend for two years while learning to become a huntsman, and I don't mean Astrid."

"You mean Toothless?" Hiccup nodded.

"Well, I don't know how to help you with Toothless, since you know him best, obviously. I do know, however, that you're getting a bit sidetracked. Go talk to Astrid, Hiccup."

As if on cue, Astrid groaned and slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"There will be consequences for this Pyrrha. It will come in the form of teasing."

"I've heard plenty from Yang," Pyrrha replied.

"You haven't heard the worst from her. Imagine being snowed in a house, trapped with a bored Yang and Taiyang Xiao Long, who hasn't got much better to do than make puns and dad jokes all day. I can assure you, you've heard nothing yet."

Hiccup then walked over to the bed Astrid was laying on, smirking when he heard Pyrrha audibly gulp. He sat at the foot of Astrid's bed.

Hiccup soon received a punch to the shoulder, courtesy of a now fully awake Astrid.

"That was for not listening to me earlier," Astrid muttered. "Don't do that again."

"Learn to fight without a weapon and I would have less reason to. If you expect me to stop worrying about you, don't hold your breath."

"Likewise" Astrid sighed. "So what now?"

"I don't know. Pyrrha wants me to talk to you so you can stop avoiding me, but I don't know where to start."

"I want to tell you about that secret about Raven-" Hiccup cut her off.

"Raven saved you before that arena fell out of the sky and hit Vale. I know about that, Raven told me; earlier on, after you ran away to ignore me."

Astrid looked equal parts relieved and sheepish. "I was being dumb at the time wasn't I?"

"No. You had no way of knowing that I knew. And I shouldn't have pressed you to tell me." Hiccup replied softly before his expression became serious.

"That being said, you should talk to me about it. Maybe spar. You shouldn't run away from your problems like I did when I left Berk. A Hofferson is always fearless, remember?"

A humourless chuckle sounded from her lips. "I wasn't. Have you ever fought someone that you know you can't beat?"

"In a way, yes," Hiccup responded, thinking of the times he sparred with Ozpin.

"That's how I felt before I was captured by the White Fang," Astrid said. "It was terrifying for the guy to cut my axe in half with that weird weapon of his."

Hiccup made a mental note to fix Astrid's weapon as soon as he found a forge to work in.

"I'll admit I don't know what it's like to become weaponless during a fight. I've only fought Ozpin before, and he was holding back quite a bit," Hiccup admitted.

"So anything else you want to talk about?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup sighed. "Want to? No. But I do think I should. Hold out your hand."

Astrid did so, wondering what Hiccup was going to do. Hiccup clasped her hand and disappeared, transforming into a mouse in her palm before changing back.

"Ta-da…" Hiccup said.

"How long have you been able to do… that?" Astrid asked.

"It was Vala411's idea!" Hiccup blurted out suddenly before shaking his head. "What just happened? Who is Vala411?" Hiccup asked himself.

"That's what I'd like to know," Astrid said dryly

"Don't look at me. I've got no idea why I said that." Hiccup replied "Anyway, I've been able to do that for quite a while. Ozpin used magic to give make me able to do that the day we met. I kinda didn't believe he could do it, but here we are."

"Wow"

"Yeah…"

Hiccup and Astrid both felt rather awkward after this piece of information was revealed.

"Would you… like to spar with me sometime?" Astrid asked, unsure of what else to ask.

"Yes. But don't expect me to go easy on you, Hofferson." Hiccup said with a grin

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Haddock." Astrid grinned as well.

"Good. Now, I just need to get past Pyrrha." Hiccup said before he rose and approached the door.

* * *

The next day, Hiccup went in search of Qrow after he woke up and got dressed.

"Where's Oscar?" He asked when he found the man.

"Why?" Qrow asked

"I need to talk to Ozpin." Hiccup said. "Where is he?" he repeated.

When Qrow told him, Hiccup made a beeline for the room.

Entering the room, Hiccup marched over to Oscar, eyes blazing green.

"I want to speak to Ozpin. I have a deal that may interest him."

Oscar's eyes flashed green. "Good morning Hiccup."

Hiccup didn't greet him, instead deciding to get to the point. "Since the White Fang is being dealt with by Ironwood, for the time being, I have decided to help you find the fall maiden on one condition. You tell everyone here - team JNPR, as well as Yang and Ruby - all about you."

"And what exactly do you mean by 'all' about me?"

"I mean all. I want you to tell them that you can use magic, that you're immortal, who Salem is and the four maidens."

"I will also tell them about my… ability to turn into a mouse and my semblance, in order to avoid confusion between the two."

"Why would they get confused between the two? One uses Aura and can't be used forever, and the other…" Ozpin paused. "You've already shown some of them your ability haven't you?"

Hiccup looked away, confirming Ozpin's suspicions. "Hiccup-"

"Don't change the subject Ozpin. We're discussing certain magic powers that you chose to give to a seventeen-year-old girl, a girl who is now eighteen, the same age as me."

"I once gave magic powers to a fifteen-year-old boy shortly after I met him. The boy in question had no qualms with it."

"The ability to turn into a mouse and the powers that Pyrrha was going to receive are nowhere near in scale Ozpin." Hiccup said, his tone rising in anger. "Don't even get me started on how she would have got these powers."

"You've become significantly easier to anger recently," Ozpin commented.

Hiccup knew Ozpin was changing the subject again but decided to go with it, this time.

"When I have to deal with the White Fang and Raven Branwen at the same time, I think that is perfectly justified. But I'm starting to suspect my semblance has something to do with it."

"Have you learned to control your semblance better?"

"No, but I discovered I can summon electricity now. Do you happen to have a book that would let me learn how to control a semblance by any chance?"

"No," Ozpin said simply.

"Worth a shot. Getting back on track, what do we do with Pyrrha? Will she gain the fall maiden powers if the current fall maiden was killed? Or would they go to someone else?"

"I'm sure you know the answer to that," Ozpin replied

"I wish I didn't. Please tell me the powers would go to someone else, preferably someone far away that I don't know. I don't know what I would do if any girl on team JNPR or team RWBY ends up with the powers."

"You know I can't Hiccup," Ozpin said with a sigh. "The powers go to whoever was in the previous maiden's thoughts when the maiden dies. I told you and miss Xiao Long as much yesterday."

Hiccup let out a long sigh. "Alright, so what will it be? Do you agree to tell team JNPR and Ruby and Yang, everything about you if I agree to help you? My statement from Yesterday still stands though. I will only help you if you help me deal with Raven and the White Fang."

"I don't like telling them everything, there are some things I like to keep close to the chest. But since I'm not the only one revealing secrets, I will make an exception just this one time." Ozpin said after thinking for a few moments.

"Deal." Ozpin then said, shaking Hiccup's hand with Oscar's smaller one.

"Good. I'll tell everyone to meet in Ironwood's office soon. I think it would be best to get it out of the way and let Ironwood know about your ability as well. I also think it would be a good idea to train them to fight without a weapon like I can."

"I agree with your idea. It would be a good idea to continue your training as well."

"Sure. Maybe Astrid can join us as well?" Hiccup asked, thinking of their conversation last night.

"Astrid?"

"She's the girl I mentioned that showed up out of the blue in Vale and was found by the police."

"Ah, she's your friend from Berk that you told me about a year ago."

"Yes. She recently had her axe broken in half. She already knows how to fight, so it should take less time to train her."

"Let me know when you wish to continue your training. I won't be holding back like before however." Hiccup paled at the last part and Oscar's eyes flashed green before he could object to the decision.

"What was all that about?" Oscar asked, now in control.

"You don't want to know," Hiccup said.

"I already heard what you were talking about. Or at least, half of it. I know Ozpin's thoughts, just like he knows mine."

"Oh, for the love of Thor. Why didn't he tell me that sooner?"

"…He says something about keeping secrets close to the chest. I don't know what that means though."

"Don't worry Oscar. I know exactly what he means by that." Hiccup replied, turning and heading for the door.

Hiccup then headed for the infirmary to see how Jaune was doing. When he reached the infirmary, he looked inside and saw Pyrrha and Jaune making out, with the redhead sitting on the edge of Jaune's hospital bed. He also noticed a few nurses glancing at the pair discreetly, without the lovebirds noticing.

'Well, I guess that answers that question' Hiccup thought to himself before leaving again.

Hiccup was passing a classroom on his way back to his assigned room when he collided with a fast-moving cloud of rose petals.

Hiccup stumbled but managed to stay upright. "Sorry Hiccup!" Ruby apologised, the short girl no longer a red cloud of rose petals.

"No problem, I didn't see you coming. Hiding from Qrow still?" Hiccup asked, smiling.

"Yeah…" the girl awkwardly replied.

Hiccup decided to move the conversation along. "Seen Yang anywhere? I've got something important to tell you. Yang should come too."

"What is it?" Ruby wondered

"You'll find out soon. You should head to Ironwood's office. Do you know the way?"

"Yes" Ruby replied

"Really?" Hiccup asked. "You know the way to the headmaster's office of a school you've never been to before?"

Ruby gave a nervous laugh. "Eh-heh…"

Hiccup shook his head in amusement. "Tell Yang to head over there. I'll tell Jaune, Nora, Ren, Pyrrha and Astrid soon."

"Yang's here?" Ruby asked in surprise.

"Yeah… are you okay with that? I remember you told me you fell out back when Yang lost her arm."

"We did. I'm sure we'll be fine."

"Uh huh." Hiccup didn't believe her for a second. "Well if you're sure about that, then I'll go find everyone else."

"Wait! How will I know where to go?"

"Ask Qrow. He knows how to get there." Hiccup reply, before walking away.

* * *

Hiccup arrived at Ironwood's office, with team JNPR, Oscar and Astrid following him. Qrow, Ruby, Yang and Ironwood were already there.

Ironwood turned around, immediately noticing Oscar following enter the room after Hiccup.

"Mind explaining why you've brought a 14-year-old boy here Hiccup?" Ironwood asked.

"Yes. Oscar?" Hiccup turned to face him and the boy's eyes flashed green.

"Greetings old friend," Ozpin said. Ironwood was caught slightly off guard while everyone else besides Hiccup, Qrow and Yang gasped.

"Ozpin?" Ruby asked, "Is that you?"

"Indeed it is, Miss Rose," Ozpin replied.

Everyone was prevented from saying anything further by a soldier bursting into Ironwood's office.

"General Ironwood! Sir!" The soldier saluted. "Sienna Khan wants to speak to you."

"What about?"

"We don't know. She refused to speak to anyone except you."

"Alright, tell her I'll be there shortly," Ironwood replied. The soldier saluted and left the room.

* * *

A/N: Like I said before, this will be the last chapter for this story I will write for a while. At least until the middle of May. Another story of mine, Comforting a Valkyrie, will likely get more updates when I inevitably put off revising for my exam.


	23. Spilling The Beans

A New World

Chapter 23: Spilling The Beans

A/N: Before I let you read this overdue chapter, I recommend you all re-read the last chapter, as this one will pick up from the last scene in that chapter.

This chapter will also contain major spoilers for RWBY volume 6, so I recommend you catch up with the show if you care about spoilers. If not, ignore this message.

When you've done that, feel free to read on. There will be an Omake at the end of this chapter as well.

Let's begin.

* * *

General Ironwood left the room, shortly after the soldier had told him that Sienna wanted to talk to him.

The room was silent for a few moments after the door shut behind Ironwood.

"Ozpin? What's this about? And how are you even here?" Ruby asked.

"That's a long story Miss Rose, so I should start to tell you about it now, or we'll be here all day," Ozpin said. "Once upon a time, there stood a lonely tower that sheltered a lonely girl. The girl was named Salem."

"Locked away by her cruel father, Salem was a girl who desired but one thing: freedom. She lived in a time when kings and their kingdoms were plentiful when men and women were capable of greatness, and magic was a gift from the gods - they were brothers, one that created and the other that destroyed. Everyone could learn to wield magic. And yet, there Salem sat within her tower, somehow unable to escape."

"Magic isn't real." Ren interrupted.

"Are you sure about that Mister Ren?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Hiccup, Are you willing to prove Mister Ren wrong?"

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to reveal this ability so soon." Hiccup sighed before approaching Ren. "Hold out your hand," he instructed him.

Ren did so and Hiccup clasped his hand, before disappearing, a mouse now in Ren's palm. Ren watched in confusion as the mouse then disappeared, with Hiccup reappearing once more.

"Congratulations Ren. You have just witnessed Magic." Hiccup drawled before looking around the room. "Did everyone else who hasn't seen that before, see it now? I don't want to keep doing that all the time."

He received an answer when he almost collided with Ruby. Or she with him.

"When were you first able to do that? How long does that last for? Do you know you look adorable as a mouse?" Ruby asked the questions in quick succession, hopping from one foot to the other, on the spot.

"Calm down Ruby." Hiccup said. She stopped moving and Hiccup smiled. "Alright, I was able to do that from the first day I met Ozpin. As far as I can tell, it lasts for as long as I want, and I guess I do, which is part of the reason I try not to use this ability."

Ruby opened her mouth to speak. "Let's listen to what Ozpin has to say. It's why I asked you to bring Jaune and Pyrrha here after all." Hiccup said, cutting her off. She nodded and looked at Ozpin again.

"Thank you Hiccup. Now, where was I? Ah yes. Salem was trapped in the tower until one day, a skilled warrior came to help the girl escape. The people of the land knew him as Ozma." Ozpin smirked when he heard Ruby gasp.

"Yes Miss Rose?" he asked her, watching as she once again hopped, moving from one foot to the other.

"He has a similar name to you…" Ruby said

"Indeed, and can anyone guess why that is?" Ozpin asked, looking at Yang and Hiccup in particular.

"Are you saying you're Ozma?" The pair asked in unison. Ozpin nodded in confirmation before continuing the story.

"He, or perhaps I should say I, helped Salem escape the tower. We then fell deeply in love, planned adventures around the world, and lived happily ever after." Ozpin said before sighing. "Or at least that's what should have happened. I became ill and died soon after," he said bluntly.

"You died?" everyone asked.

"Yes."

"But how are you alive now if you died?" Jaune asked.

"You'll find out, Mister Arc," Ozpin replied.

"Ok."

"After I died, Salem went to the god of light to try and bring me back alive. She didn't get her wish, so she went to his younger brother, the god of darkness. She asked him to try and bring me back to life. He accepted the request and I was brought back. Things were going well for Salem until the god of light arrived and noticed what was going on. As a result of what Salem had done, she was made immortal as punishment."

"First you say magic exists, now you're telling us that there are gods? I don't be-" Ren was cut off by Nora mid-sentence.

"That doesn't sound so bad. She got to live forever."

"Trust me, Miss Valkyrie, it isn't good," Ozpin replied.

"Salem then travelled from one kingdom to another, telling the story of how she 'stole' immortality from the gods. She welcomed any swordsman to cut her down, and she demonstrated her control over magic. This was all in an attempt to kill the gods, unknown to everyone but herself."

"With the kings and queens in awe, she pulled them deeper into her scheme. She painted them pictures of a time when they would no longer have to watch their loved ones wither and die when they could claim the powers of the gods for themselves. All they needed to do was destroy their old masters.

"The gods had hoped that Salem would learn from her eternal curse, and she did. She learned that the hearts of men are easily swayed. She brought an army to fight the gods, but since magic was a gift from the gods, they lost, and most of Humanity was wiped from the face of Remnant. Once again, Salem was alone."

"As a result of the gods killing everyone but herself and leaving Remnant, she cursed the gods. She cursed the universe. She cursed everything, everything but herself. She wandered the face of the planet, awaiting a death that would never come… Until fate led her back to the Land of Darkness. This was it. This had to be it, the god of darkness' Grimm, the pools of black that continued to give rise to horrific nightmares - Grimm. If the fountain of life granted immortality, then surely, the pools of Grimm will finally take it away."

"She was wrong. This force of pure destruction could not destroy a being of infinite life. Instead, it created a being of infinite life with a desire for pure destruction. And in time, she would find her adversary… And so I was reborn."

"I, or Ozma, was given the choice to return to Remnant and try to unite what was left of humanity. I was told that the gods would then return, and judge everyone when summoned by a collection of four relics when the relics are brought together. I-"

"What?" everyone asked, interrupting Ozpin. Ozpin looked up and noticed the expressions of everyone present. They ranged from anger to shock, to disbelief in Ren's case. Yang appeared the most enraged.

"What else haven't you told us?" Yang demanded, her eyes changing from lilac to red and hair glowing brightly. She stepped forward, intending to punch Ozpin, but Hiccup grabbed her arm.

"Let me go, Hiccup." Yang said immediately.

"No. If I did that then we wouldn't hear the rest of what Ozpin has to say. Besides, are you forgetting that there are two people in there?" Hiccup replied.

"What do you mean 'two' people?" everyone besides Yang, Qrow and Hiccup asked.

"Ozpin? Care to show everyone your ability?" Hiccup asked.

Ozpin said nothing, but his eyes flashed green. Oscar waved awkwardly at everyone in the room. "H-hi guys," he said.

"Cute boy Oz!" Nora shouted, before tackling Oscar and pinching his cheeks with both hands.

"Nora… please leave him alone." Ren said calmly.

Nora stood up, listening to Ren and letting Oscar get up again. His eyes flashed green once more.

"Miss Valkyrie, please don't call me that," Ozpin muttered.

Nora ignored him and Ran then spoke. "I think we could all use some time to calm down, so I think we should all meditate."

"Meditate? What is that?" Hiccup asked.

"Meditation is a method that helps one relax. It can also help a person control their semblance." Ren replied

"Well, I think I could use that. You should come too, Astrid."

"I could do with finding out my semblance" Astrid agreed.

"Are you sure about this?" Ozpin asked. "There is more you should know."

"I think we've heard enough. We know that you and Salem are immortal, therefore we can't win." Yang snapped, her eyes still red.

"She was behind the attack on Vale," Ozpin said. Yang looked even angrier now.

"Let me go, Hiccup," Yang said, looking murderous.

"No. I want to hear him out." Hiccup said

"Why?" Yang demanded, turning on Hiccup.

"Because if you kill Ozpin, regardless of whether he deserves it or not, you'll be doing Salem's work for her."

There was a pause, then Yang calmed down slightly, her eyes becoming lilac once more.

"Alright, Ozpin. What should we do to beat Salem?" Hiccup asked.

"It's clear that we can't win through by fighting her directly per se, but if everyone knew about Salem, then she wouldn't be able to work in secret," Ozpin said.

"Would that work?" Pyrrha asked, speaking up for the first time.

"It would increase Grimm attacks as people would be understandably worried at the news, which is why I prefer not to tell people about Salem. It would then force Salem to fight directly if everyone knew of her existence. You would still have to fight her when she appeared, but Miss Rose could help with that." Ozpin said, looking suddenly thoughtful.

"Wait, how can Ruby help defeat Salem? And you mentioned Relics earlier. What are they for?" Yang asked

"They are for calling the gods back to Remnant as I said. Part of the reason Salem attacked Beacon, was to find one of the Relics. She didn't find it, as I had kept it well hidden. As for how Ruby can help us defeat Salem, Miss Xiao Long, Qrow can tell you all about that." Ozpin finished with a smirk in Qrow's direction.

"Oh, Great" Qrow muttered. "Thanks, Oz."

"You're welcome" Ozpin replied, still smirking at Qrow.

The door to the room opened before anything else was said, and Ironwood entered.

"You have someone who wants to meet you Hiccup," Ironwood said. "Follow me"

"Uh, ok" Hiccup replied, wondering who it could be. "I guess I'll see you guys later."

* * *

Ironwood and Hiccup, accompanied by two other soldiers, approached Sienna Khan, who was flanked by two White Fang goons. She looked intently at Hiccup before she spoke. "I see you've brought the councilman from Vale. You may leave General. I wish to speak with him alone."

"Excuse me? You don't get to come here and tell me what to do after the attack on Vale. It-"

"Was a tragedy, but not one authorised by me. Adam acted entirely on his own."

Ironwood crossed his arms. "How do we know you're telling the truth?"

"You don't. But I only wish to speak to him, alone." Sienna said, nodding at Hiccup.

"What do you want to talk to me about?" Hiccup asked

"I said I wanted to speak to you, without anyone else overhearing" Sienna repeated.

"And what makes you think I want to talk to you?"

Sienna sighed, realising she was getting nowhere. "I am suggesting we work together to catch Adam. While I do support violence against humans in order to make the Faunus respected, attacking a huntsman academy is where even I would draw the line. It doesn't help the Faunus, and would only lead to war."

"You… want an alliance?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'll need time to think about that, and tell some friends of mine about it." Hiccup replied

"That is fine with me. I think we're done here. I'll be waiting to hear your decision." Sienna turned away and motioned for her guards to follow.

"You're not seriously thinking of agreeing to that, are you?" Ironwood asked as they watched Sienna leave.

"I wouldn't if it were up to me, but Yang and Ruby and team JNPR should hear about it. It's up to them, not me."

"Alright, so when will you tell them about it?"

"I'll tell them about it now." Hiccup then sighed. "Is there a forge nearby? I should get that cage fixed."

"Yes, there is. I'll show you where it is later."

* * *

Back in Ironwood's office, Hiccup relayed the news to everyone else.

"We're not doing it. The White Fang attacked Vale. It feels wrong to work with them after that." Yang said

"Ok. Does everyone agree with that? I know I do," Hiccup said.

Everyone else agreed with Yang's statement.

"Well, that was easy. Where is that forge you mentioned, Ironwood?"

* * *

Stepping through her portal, Raven eyed the cage that Hiccup had repaired before looking at Hiccup as he scrambled to hide a sheet of paper from view

"You really show up when you're unwanted. I'm starting to think you have two semblances now."

Raven ignored Hiccup's comment as she stared at the piece of paper he was awkwardly hiding behind his back.

"What is that you're hiding?"

"None of your business. What do you want?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "We're going on a journey, you and I. Bring the cage with you, I need it."

"Not much of a journey when most of it is via a portal," Hiccup deadpanned, before sighing and taking out his scroll.

"What are you doing?"

"Sending a text to a friend. What do you think I'm doing?"

'Raven has come back. I need to go for a bit. Tell everyone else and let me know if they've decided to accept Sienna's alliance.' Hiccup sent the text to Astrid, followed by Yang.

Hiccup then put his scroll away and picked up the cage, following after Raven.

"So where are we going?" Hiccup asked once they stepped out of the portal and into Raven's camp.

Raven glanced at him, an eyebrow raised. "Isn't it obvious?" She emphasized her point by pointing at the tents nearby.

"You need me for something more than bringing the cage here, as we both know you're strong enough to carry it by yourself. So, where are we going?"

"Hold on. I have something to show you first," Raven said. "Vernal!" Raven then called out and the woman arrived moments later.

"Would you show Hiccup to our newest visitor?" Raven smirked and Vernal nodded before picking up the cage that Hiccup had fixed. Raven then prompted Hiccup to move forward with a shove.

"You could just ask, you know" Hiccup grumbled before following Vernal.

She led him to a large tent before putting the cage down. Hiccup glanced at the tent and noticed a yellow and blue object lying in the grass in front of it.

Hiccup bent over to pick up the object. He stared at the object before dropping it with a startled gasp. "That is a spine from the tail of a Deadly Nadder. Why is it here?" Hiccup whirled around, looking for Vernal.

What he saw next however made him freeze. Vernal had a crescent-shaped weapon held to the throat of a familiar two-limbed man, who was bound and gagged. Gobber stared at Hiccup before recognition dawned on his face.

"Gobber? Raven, what is… this?" Hiccup stopped talking as he felt a blade being held against the underside of his jaw

"This, dear Hiccup, is a form of persuasion," Raven said, her sword moving from the underside of his jaw, to just above his Adam's apple.

"Any questions?" Raven taunted him.

"How did you find him? I don't remember telling you about him."

"Semblance based inter-dimensional travel, espionage… you do the math. You telling me your full name when we first met certainly helped with this."

"So you travelled across dimensions, obviously after Astrid arrived."

"Before she arrived," Raven corrected him. "How do you think she ended up in Vale? Do you think she just appeared out of thin air?"

Hiccup went silent as he considered the statement.

"Does Astrid remember being brought there?" Hiccup asked

"Brought where?"

"Being brought to Vale. She hasn't mentioned how she got there."

"Why don't you ask her?" Raven suggested.

"Alright, last question." Hiccup said, ignoring what Raven had just said. "Why are you doing all of this? What is the point of this?" Hiccup asked.

"Like I said, persuasion. I want you to do something for me, for my tribe in general, that I can't afford to go wrong. This is just to ensure it doesn't go wrong by any effort on your part."

"…Alright, what is it?" Hiccup said with a sigh.

A portal formed after Raven removed her sword from Hiccup's throat, while Vernal still held her weapon at Gobber's throat before pushing him towards and into the cage Hiccup had fixed.

"What are you doing?" Hiccup demanded, noticing what Vernal was doing.

"She's doing what I asked her to."

"Let him go!"

"You don't get to tell me what to do. You work for me, not the other way around."

"So you won't let him go? Alright." Hiccup started walking towards Vernal.

"Not another step."

"Let Gobber go and I will stop walking. Otherwise, I will let him go myself. Then I will find out why I found one of the tail spines of a Deadly Nadder here." Hiccup replied, looking at Raven again.

She didn't reply so Hiccup turned around again, just as Vernal fired a warning shot into the air. Now everyone in the tribe was watching.

"You should listen to her. She's your boss now." Vernal said

"She isn't."

"I am, or have you forgotten that I could travel to Atlas quite easily? What do you think would happen to your precious Astrid then?"

"You've got a point there, as much as I wish it weren't true. What did you want me to do?" Hiccup asked through gritted teeth, seething.

"You'll see," Raven said before stepping through, followed by Hiccup.

Next, they arrived in a small town. "Welcome to Shion village," Raven said.

"Are we here just to sightsee? Because I'm really not in the mood. Can we just get whatever you want me to do, done?"

"Fine, this way."

They made her way to a building near the middle of town. Entering, Hiccup noticed the building was a bar as they sat down at a table near the door.

Raven then took out her scroll and texted someone. Hiccup wondered who but got his answer when Roman Torchwick arrived and made a beeline for their table, accompanied by a girl who was shorter than Ruby and had pink and brown eyes as well as hair that was equal parts pink and brown.

The pair each pulled over a chair from a nearby table and sat down. Hiccup was directly opposite Roman, and the girl ended up facing Raven.

"A bandit, a huntsman and a criminal walk into a bar…" Hiccup drawled. "Why do I need to be here again?"

"To make sure he doesn't screw up."

"So now I'm involved in crime."

"You didn't know Junior is a criminal?"

"Junior was for getting information on people - mainly the White Fang - and passing it onto Ozpin, who then passed it onto the council. It was meant to keep people safe, but I'm sure you already know that."

"You brought a huntsman here Raven? Are you sure about this?" Roman asked.

"Ozpin is dead, Glynda is in Vale, and Ironwood is dealing with the White Fang. I have bigger things to deal with than one guy stealing dust." Hiccup said the statement was mostly true. "Like the fact, a certain someone has someone I know locked away." Hiccup glared at Raven.

"I didn't ask for your life story," Roman replied.

"And I didn't ask to be here. Can we get this over with?"

It was at this point Hiccup heard the sound of glass breaking. He and Raven both looked for the source of the sound. The chair where the girl was sitting was now empty, and Hiccup felt the edge of a blade poke his back.

"Second time today. Joy." Hiccup sighed. "What does she want?"

Roman had the audacity to smirk. "She wants you to apologise to me."

"Yeah…" Hiccup disappeared, reappeared and turned around in his seat as he drew his weapons, aiming them at the girl. "…That's not happening. I've had a rather annoying time recently, so I am up for a fight, but I'm not apologizing."

Roman laughed. "Not easily shaken, I like this one. Neo, don't hurt him, he seems alright."

"I'm not sure if I like the fact I just got a compliment from a criminal." Hiccup replied, turning to face Roman again as Neo returned to her seat.

Roman shrugged. "Whatever." He turned to Raven. "Should we start transporting dust?"

"Yeah. But first, introductions: this is Roman, our tribe's dust distributor, and Neo, his mute pet."

Neo glared at Raven, but Raven was unperturbed by the act.

"And him?" Roman asked. "What does he do?"

"This is Hiccup, our tribe's newest member. He doesn't have a job in the tribe yet, but I have an idea in mind."

Roman raised an eyebrow at the name but made no comment. "Alright, let's talk business."

Hiccup tuned out the conversation at this point as his thoughts drifted back to Gobber and his current situation. He clenched a fist at the thought.

"-Hiccup?"

Hiccup was brought out of his thoughts when he heard his name being mentioned. "Yes?"

"Still with us?" Raven asked

"What?"

"The meeting is over. I'm heading back to my tribe." Raven said, already approaching one of her portals.

Hiccup glanced at where Roman and Neo had been sitting and acknowledged that they had both gone. Raven had already disappeared when he finally stepped through the portal.

* * *

When he arrived back at Atlas Academy, Hiccup immediately took out his scroll.

He selected a number and made a call. He spoke when the line was picked up. "We need to talk about Raven, Yang. She has crossed a line and I'd like to not have to see her again."

"Ok. If you need help, let me know."

"Ok? That's it? You don't even know what she did, and you want to help me, just like that?"

"She abandoned me when I was little and when I finally meet her, the first thing she does is try to make me hate you. I don't care for her that much. So, what did she do this time?"

"She put Gobber in a cage."

"Gobber?"

"Oh that's right, you haven't met him. Basically, he's been more like a dad to me than my own dad. Like how Summer Rose was more like a mother to you than your own mother, in a way."

"Why-why did I ever want to find her? You shouldn't have told me about Junior. This is all my fault." Yang's voice caught and she went quiet. Hiccup could hear shallow, shaky breaths on the other side of the scroll. She started to sniffle, so he spoke up.

"Hey, it isn't your fault. You don't need to cry, Yang. Raven did this, not you, alright?" This reply didn't have the intended effect, as he could hear her sobbing before she hung up.

'Well done Hiccup. You've made Yang cry. Congratulations Hiccup.' Hiccup thought to himself. He then put his scroll away before he started to search Atlas Academy for Yang.

It took a while, but when he finally found her. Her shoulders were slouched and she was staring at the floor. Hiccup approached and pulled her into a tight hug.

"What's wrong Yang? Did I say something wrong?" Hiccup asked. He felt Yang shake her head. "Then what is it?"

"I-it's nothing on your part. I just feel guilty." Yang mumbled into his chest.

"Guilty about what?"

"Well, guilt and anger. Anger at what Raven has done, and guilt at having you involved in whatever Raven is doing."

"Well how about we fix that? Why don't I bring you to her tribe?"

Yang was silent for a full minute before she stepped out of Hiccup's embrace and wiped her eyes, which were red from crying instead of her semblance for once. "I have an idea on what to do."

"What is it?"

Yang smirked. "Oh, no Hiccup. You're not getting involved until the end. This is my plan. So I think you should 'Yang-out' until then."

"And the puns are back. Joy. Well, it does prove that you're fine again." Hiccup said. "Alright, Yang. Let's see what your plan is."

* * *

A/N: Now, here is an Omake which is set a few years in the past in this story's confusing timeline.

* * *

Omake: The Fallen Fall Maiden

* * *

Hiccup was walking along the grounds of Beacon a year after beginning training with Ozpin and trying out his new weapons for the first time. Hiccup looked up and squinted as he noticed Qrow and Glynda following Ozpin. They were far off in the distance ahead of him.

What grabbed his attention, however, was the fact that a glass chamber was being brought with them, surrounded by a purple glow - Glynda Goodwitch's semblance of telekinesis.

He watched as the three of them entered Beacon at the front entrance and disappeared.

Wondering what was going on, Hiccup decided to follow after them at a distance.

Hiccup reached the entrance to the school itself that they had used and entered, just as the lift in view of the door, started to descend.

A few minutes later, the lift returned and Hiccup stepped inside. Hiccup looked at the various buttons and noticed one that went below the ground floor. He pressed it, and the lift began to descend as it had minutes prior.

The doors opened, and Hiccup stepped out. He was now standing in a dark chamber. Hiccup started to walk forward after his eyes had adjusted to the low light of the chamber, at least compared to outside. He was wondering where Glynda, Qrow and Ozpin had gone, as he saw no sign of them.

When he neared the end of the chamber, he saw the three of them standing around the glass chamber. He was close enough to notice that there was a girl in the chamber and she appeared to be asleep.

Hiccup was about to leave again when, as if by bad luck, Qrow turned and noticed him.

"Hiccup?"

"Yes?"

"How long have you been standing there?" Qrow asked his attention, along with Glynda's and Ozpin's, now fixed on him.

"I just got here. I noticed the glass chamber, and wondered where you were going."

"Alright. Well, since you've already seen it, there's no real point in hiding it. Glynda, would you mind escorting Hiccup to my office?" Ozpin asked

"Yes sir," she said, striding forward and motioning for Hiccup to follow her.

Ozpin arrived soon after Hiccup had sat down on a seat facing Ozpin's desk, while Glynda remained standing. The headmaster made his way to his desk and looked at Hiccup.

"What I'm about to tell you, tell no one else. It would, admittedly, cause widespread panic and therefore attract Grimm." Ozpin said. He waited for Hiccup to nod before continuing.

"There once were four maidens that met a wizard, who was disguised as an old man…"

* * *

A/N: "If it isn't clear by now, Ozpin is the old man/wizard. As is common with most RWBY characters, he is based on a fictional character. In this case, the Wizard of Oz, which also inspires his name.

I'll leave you HTTYD fans to find out who is based on who. Any RWBY fans who know this already, please don't spoil it for anyone else!

Now, I'm going to go and start writing the next chapter. Big plans ahead!


	24. Plan Preparations

A New World

Chapter 24: Plan Preparations

A/N: The one year anniversary of this story is coming up soon, so for everyone who followed or favourited this story, welcome! Not really got anything else to say here, so let's begin right away.

* * *

At night, in the sky above Atlas Academy, a high pitched whistle could be heard, indicating Toothless was in the middle of a dive.

"YEAH!" Hiccup exclaimed and Toothless roared happily at the same time. Toothless then levelled off from his dive.

"It's been a long time, bud." Toothless crooned in agreement before Hiccup continued. "I finally have some time where I don't have to think about Raven or the White Fang. I should ask people for help more often."

Another croon was heard. "So, up for giving it another shot?" Toothless responded by hitting Hiccup with an ear flap.

"Ow! Don't worry Toothless, I'll be fine." Toothless snorted.

"That was only a few times! Besides, it worked eventually and I am safer now, I have aura remember?"

Toothless let out a groan, which Hiccup took as reluctant agreement.

Once Hiccup had put on his mask, he unhooked himself from the saddle and locked Toothless tail in a position for gliding.

"Ready?" Hiccup asked, feeling the need to repeat the question.

Toothless snorted unenthusiastically. Suddenly, Hiccup slid off of Toothless' back, peeling away from him like a skydiver from a plane.

Toothless dove after him. They spiralled through the air, face-to-face. Toothless is having fun, despite himself.

When he saw the snow below them after falling through the clouds, Hiccup slipped his forearms through a pair of tucked leather flaps, and yanked, unfurling sheets of leather as he extended his arms.

They caught the wind, snapping like wings, and sent him gliding. Hiccup quickly ascended back through the clouds, followed by Toothless, who unfolded his wings, too.

Catching up with Hiccup, the freedom was palpable. Hiccup and Toothless were, for that moment, the same. Feeling the same rush of adrenaline. Independently together. They plunged past cloud formations, splitting apart then crossing paths again.

"This is amazing!" Hiccup yelled, followed by a roar of agreement from Toothless.

A cloud layer rushes past, exposing a very tall tree towering over him, dead ahead.

"No longer amazing! Toothless!"

Hiccup tried to steer himself away, to no avail. Toothless poured on the speed, trying to catch Hiccup as he hurtled toward the tree. His locked tail made manoeuvring difficult. He was unable to pull up at a steep enough angle, in order to reach Hiccup in time.

Hiccup flared his aura and brought his arms to his face, protecting it mere seconds before he hit the tree.

Hiccup collided with a tree branch, feeling it scrape against his fingers before he grabbed it and held on for dear life. He would have managed to hold on, were it not for Toothless colliding with him moments later.

They fell as one, a black and brown blur, falling through several other branches before reaching the ground where snow broke their fall.

Hiccup scrambled to stand up and untangle himself from Toothless but stopped when the pair was suddenly lifted into the air. Hiccup looked down and noticed his torso was surrounded by a purple glow.

"Hiccup" his head snapped to the person who had spoken, already filled with dread as he recognised who it was.

An unamused Glynda was standing a few meters away from him, wearing a fur-lined coat with a hood. Her cheeks were tinged red from the cold as she glared at him.

"I arrive in Atlas and decide to go for a walk. The first thing I see is you colliding with a tree, so, do you mind telling me why you decided to collide with a tree, at night, when it is unlikely that anyone could help you if you were injured in the process?"

Hiccup looked away, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I was trying out my flight suit. I didn't see the tree until it was too late to do anything."

Glynda's glare intensified. "And you decided to do that without looking for trees or other obstacles first?"

"I didn't think of that, ok? I'm fine, my aura protected me from getting hurt. Can you let me down now?"

Glynda sighed. "Fine. What have you been up to since coming to Atlas?"

Hiccup straightened up when Glynda let him go, while Toothless proceeded to hit Hiccup with his tail. "Ow! Did you need to do that, Toothless?" Toothless growled and ignored him.

"Right, one drama queen over there." Hiccup rolled his eyes before turning to address Glynda. "I got a prosthetic leg."

"So why haven't you come back to Vale?" Glynda asked

"Because I've been busy. This is one of the few moments since coming here that I haven't had anything to do."

"I feel like I should go," Glynda muttered

"Go? Why should you go?"

"I know what it's like to be so busy that you barely have time to relax."

"You do?"

"Of course! As the headmaster of Beacon, Ozpin was required to fill out lots of paperwork as part of his job. Do you think he actually did it?"

"He didn't, but you did?"

"Oh he did some, but he often conveniently had no time to finish it all. He would claim he was busy training you to fight, but I know the truth."

"Ok. You don't need to go anywhere though. In fact, I could use your help with something."

"What is it?"

"Do you know how to infuse dust into metal?"

"I haven't done that in years. Why do you ask?"

"I'm planning on making a new weapon. I've designed it already, but I'm looking to find a lighter and stronger metal than the one I used for my current weapons." Hiccup gestured to his hips, where his hand axes were holstered in their pistol form.

"I can help with that. Follow me." Glynda said before walking away.

"Come on Toothless." Hiccup said before he hurried after Glynda and they returned to Atlas Academy.

"So you know a metal that I can use?" Hiccup asked Glynda, when they reached the forge in the school, minutes later.

"Yes, I do. But it depends on what weapon you're making."

"I'm making a shield"

"Just a shield?"

"No, I'll be using gravity dust with it. I recently learned about that type of dust, hence why I want to learn how to infuse metal with dust. In fact, let me get the design for it."

Hiccup held out a sheet of paper to Glynda. She took it and looked over the design on the paper. "That's not going to need the metal I have in mind."

"Alright." Hiccup proceeded to prepare the fire in the forge as he continued to talk. "What metal do you think I should use?"

"The same one that you used for your current weapons. If you want to make throwing knives that are stored in a shield then they will need weight to them, and the metal I was thinking of is too light."

"Ok. Let's get started. Do you want to hear more about what else I've been doing here?"

"Yes, and then I'll tell you about what has happened at Beacon. It's part of the reason I'm here."

Hiccup's attention drawn, he stared at Glynda. "What happened at Beacon?"

"In a minute. You should get started on making the weapon."

Hiccup stared at her for a full minute before turning away. "Fine, but I expect to hear about everything."

"Of course. I always do."

Hiccup snorted. "Yeah, you do. That's why you forgot to mention that Pyrrha Nikos was the chosen fall maiden. Pyrrha herself was the one who told me that."

"Hiccup-"

"I'm not bothered that you chose her to become the fall maiden, because those powers were taken away and the problem was solved. But from now on, I want you to tell me, no, everyone in team JNPR and RWBY and CFVY about everything you know about Salem and everyone on her side."

"Not go-"

"The good news is, team JNPR and half of team RWBY already know about Salem now. Only team CFVY is left." Hiccup interrupted her for the third time.

"Agreed?" Hiccup then asked

"You're not going to let this drop, are you?

"Nope"

Ok, then I agree." Glynda said.

"Good. Now, no more talking. We've got work to do."

* * *

The next day, Hiccup was shaken awake by Ruby.

"You made a new weapon with Professor Goodwitch?!" she shouted in excitement, hopping from one foot to the other.

Hiccup groaned as he lay face down on his bed. "Ruby, please not so loud. I worked on it all night long. Besides, you shouldn't wake up Ren and Jaune and Toothless."

"But weapon's are so cool! You've got to show me yours! And you know Jaune and Ren aren't here, right?"

"Huh?" Hiccup looked around the room and found the room empty besides himself, Ruby and Toothless. "Alright, you will get to see it. I'll even let you take part in testing it. But for now, I just want to sleep."

"Alright." Ruby left the room in a cloud of rose petals, as usual.

Hiccup thought all was right with the world until he was pulled off his bed, minutes later.

"Oh come on Glynda. I'd like to sleep here." Hiccup said with his eyes closed.

"…I'm not Professor Goodwitch, Hiccup."

"Yang" Hiccup opened his eyes to look at her before he groaned again. "Please let go. I want to sleep."

"So I heard. Sorry Hiccup, but Ruby was quite insistent."

"Insistent? Did she bribe you to do this?" Hiccup opened his eyes again, taking in the fact that Yang was wearing pyjamas.

"No. She was just getting irritating with all the bouncing around from one foot to the other."

"So why am I not allowed to sleep? Can't you go back to bed and let me have at least ten more minutes?"

Yang shook her head. "As much as I'd like to, no."

Hiccup sighed and sat up. "What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to show her your weapon now. Then she won't be curious and all will be right with the world again. You can then sleep some more."

"Alright. I'll do that." Yang let go and Hiccup straightened up. "Next time, use chocolate cookies. Especially when you promised I wouldn't have to do anything. How is that plan of yours going anyway?"

"Still in the planning stage. I spoke to Ironwood yesterday and he agreed to help a little bit. I'm getting a prosthetic arm soon."

"That's good. You can join the prosthetic club." Hiccup joked

"What's it like?"

"What do you mean?" Yang glanced pointedly at Hiccup's prosthetic.

"Oh. Mostly the same. The biggest difference is one is metal, and the other isn't. I did spar with Pyrrha after I learned to walk with it, and the balance was slightly off, but you won't have that problem."

"Did they tell you about phantom pain?" Yang asked

"I grew up on an island where the blacksmith - Gobber - is missing both an arm and a leg. Trust me, I know about it. Haven't felt what it's like though."

Yang nodded. "Alright, Hiccup. Time to show Ruby that weapon you made." she then declared, shoving him forward.

"Ok, I'm going. Remember, use chocolate cookies next time. It works well."

"Of course it does. I told you about that trick you know." Yang smiled and Hiccup returned the action before leaving the room.

* * *

At the forge, Hiccup revealed the shield he had made the night before to Ruby.

"So what does it do?"

Hiccup demonstrated by pressing a button on the back of the shield, causing it to slide open. Inside the shield were six throwing knives. The blade of each had a yellow tint present.

Hiccup pressed another button and the knives sparked with electricity.

"SO COOL!" Ruby squealed.

"I'm glad you like it."

"What will you call it?" Ruby asked after calming down.

"Storm's Breath. And I'm also going to name these" - Hiccup gestured to his hand axes - "Bite and Lash."

"Are you calling the shield that because of how the lightning dust you're using matches lightning in a storm?"

"Exactly. But I'm also using gravity dust. Watch." Hiccup pressed another button on the back of the shield, stopping the knives from sparking electricity before taking one and letting it fall to the ground.

Hiccup then pressed yet another button and the knife was drawn handle first, back to the shield, the handle glowing purple during the process.

"I think that is my favourite weapon after Crescent Rose."

"Ok."

"So what are you going to do now?" Ruby asked

"I'm going to go back to bed because a certain someone woke me up."

Ruby looked away. "Sorry, Hiccup. I won't do it again."

"I really hope not. See you later Ruby."

* * *

Later on in the day, after Hiccup had slept a few hours more, Yang, Hiccup and Glynda set out to meet Sienna Khan.

"Are you sure about this Yang?" Hiccup asked, for what had to be at least the tenth time.

"For the last time Hiccup, yes!" Yang snapped before her tone softened. "You don't need to worry about me."

"Tough. Me worrying about you is involuntary and non-negotiable. You should feel grateful," Hiccup teased.

"I'd feel more grateful if you stopped asking."

"Like I said, me worrying about you is involuntary. But I can see Sienna now, so I'll stop talking."

"So what is your decision?" Sienna asked them when they arrived.

"We've decided not to work with you."

Sienna's expression darkened. "I don't make alliances with just anyone. You're the first humans in fact."

"The answer is still no." Glynda snapped before Hiccup could reply. "You deserve to be arrested after what happened in Vale."

Sienna rolled her eyes and looked at Yang. "Anything you want to say?"

"Yes," Yang said. Her eyes weren't red, but Hiccup guessed she was on the verge of attacking Sienna. "You've been talking to us like we're supposed to be happy with working with you. That you are the best person in the world."

"But let me tell you something. Before the attack on Vale, I had a friend who was a Faunus. Her name was Blake. When the attack on Vale happened, I saw her under attack by one of you. He had red hair, a White Fang mask and a red sword."

"When I tried to protect Blake, you know what happened? My arm was cut off. I lost a limb trying to protect a Faunus."

"Before coming here, I've been learning more and more about the White Fang, trying to find out what you've been trying to do."

Yang's eyes turned red. "And do you know what I found out? That the White Fang wants equality."

"Is this going somewhere, little girl?" Sienna said.

"Yes. Until the White Fang is no longer considered a terrorist organization, the Faunus will not be considered equal. Because the majority of Vale considered Faunus equal to humans, and you destroyed it. You have shot yourself in the foot."

"Anything else to say, little girl?" Sienna asked.

"Go home to Mistral, Sienna. You burned the bridges between Humans and the normal Faunus and the White Fang when Vale was destroyed." Yang said firmly.

"That's a shame," Sienna said before leaving with her two bodyguards.

"Why didn't you give Yang, Ozpin's seat on the Vale council? She sounds better at talking like a politician than I do." Hiccup asked Glynda.

"Did I sound good?" Yang asked. "I wasn't exactly planning to. Also, you had a seat on the Vale council? When did you get that?"

"When I woke up from my coma. I didn't want it, but Glynda didn't either, so the only other option was Qrow."

"Right. Ok. So what do we do now?"

"I think you should continue to work on that plan of yours, and I don't know what you can do Glynda, but I want to talk to Astrid. Do you know where she could be?"

Both Yang and Glynda shook their heads.

"Alright. Well, I'll see you two later."

When Hiccup had gone, Glynda looked at Yang. "Was that wise?" Glynda asked

"What do you mean?"

"What you said to Sienna. She likely won't be happy after that."

"We'll just deal with her when the time comes like I will with the guy who cut my arm off."

"Interesting. So what else have you been up to?"

"Well, Hiccup got his prosthetic, and Ozpin told us about Salem, the master of the Grimm. Then there is Raven to deal with."

"Raven Branwen?" Glynda asked

"Yes. Do you know her?"

Glynda nodded. "We went to Beacon together."

"So you know her fighting style?"

Glynda's eyes narrowed slightly. "Yes… why do you want to know that?"

"I want to know because I'm planning to deal with her. Ironwood has agreed to help as well."

"He has? Well, in that case, I should help out as well. Follow me." Glynda said, and the two made their way back to Atlas Academy.

"How will you help out?" Yang asked as they walked.

"Your Uncle has a certain ability that will help us keep an eye on Raven."

"Like how Hiccup can turn into a mouse?"

"Something like that, but from the air," Glynda said cryptically.

Yang remained silent and Glynda spoke up again, moments later.

"He can turn into a crow. Fitting, because of his name."

"And I'm guessing Raven can turn into a Raven?"

"Correct. Ozpin always did have a weird sense of humour." Glynda smiled before it disappeared.

"Yang, is Ozpin here? I remember Hiccup mentioning him yesterday. I want to speak to him."

"He's here. I'll take you to him."

* * *

Hiccup found Astrid inside the bedroom assigned to Ruby, Pyrrha, Nora, Yang and herself.

"Hello. Do any of you mind if I speak to Astrid for a few minutes?"

No one had any objections to it, so Astrid approached Hiccup.

"What is it?" She asked, stepping into the hallway.

"I found the tail spine of a Deadly Nadder near a tent in Raven's tribe the other day? You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

"No…"

"Please don't lie Astrid. People I've known for the past few years have been keeping secrets that have put my friends at risk. Whatever you're hiding feels similar.

"And even if it's not dangerous, please let me, no us, team JNPR & RWBY help you deal with it."

"I don't know if I can Hiccup."

"You can. I managed. Are you going to tell me that I'm more confident than you?"

"You are."

"Am I? Who ran away from Berk, without even trying to convince my father about dragons? Who took the first chance to run away from Vale, even if I did get a prosthetic in the process? Who gave in and became Raven's puppet as soon as you were threatened, regardless of whether or not the threat was a bluff? Are you really sure I'm the confident one, Astrid?"

"Please just tell me," Hiccup added softly.

Astrid remained silent, deep in thought for several minutes while Hiccup waited for her to reply.

She was about to when Hiccup spoke again. "What type of dragon have you bonded with?"

"A Deadly Nadder."

"Does it have blue and yellow scales?"

"Yes"

"Good. One last question: what did you call your dragon?"

"Stormfly. Her name is Stormfly."

"That's a nice name. Alright, you can go do whatever you want. I've got no more questions"

"Really? The questions were specific. What are you planning, Hiccup?"

"It's a surprise, Astrid. You'll have to wait and see. But I'm sure you'll figure it out before then. I'm going to go now. I've got an axe to fix." Hiccup added.

"Alright. I'll just wait then I guess."

"You can come and watch if you want." Hiccup suggested

"Ok" the pair walked away and Astrid decided to hold Hiccup's hand. Hiccup raised an eyebrow at the action but didn't question it.

* * *

Yang and Glynda found Ozpin in Ironwood's office. He and Ironwood turned around when the door opened.

"Hello, again Glynda" Ironwood greeted.

"Hello, James."

"James?"

"Yes, Yang. That is my name." Ironwood said

"I thought it was General" Ironwood chuckled.

"No it isn't, but now you know the truth." His expression became neutral again. "What do you want?"

"Well, Professor Goodwitch is looking for Ozpin."

"Ah. Well, Ozpin?" Ironwood looked at Oscar.

"Hello Glynda," Ozpin said.

"So this is your new body, huh?"

Yang's jaw dropped. "You know about this already?"

"Yes," Glynda said. "You didn't think he kept secrets from everyone, did you?"

"I did, until now, since you only told us about this recently."

"Well, it's all out of the bag now," Ozpin said. "While we're on the topic of secrets, what is your plan regarding Raven Branwen, Miss Xiao Long?"

Yang glared at Ironwood. "You told him?!"

"Miss Xiao Long, how I heard about your plan doesn't matter all that much right now. I have decided to help as well."

"Really." Yang deadpanned, not believing him in the slightest.

"Yes. Also, you should be aware that since Raven's tribe is in Mistral. So how do you plan to get there?"

"Have you forgotten that Hiccup has a dragon? I can get there that way."

"And then what? Do you expect to win against a fully trained huntress? Neither you nor Hiccup are that good, either on your own or working together. And even if you were, she could escape quite easily."

"So what do you think we should do, since you apparently know everything?"

"I suggest that we go to meet the headmaster of Haven - an old friend of mine - and then we can have huntsmen to help deal with Raven."

"…Ok, I'll admit that's a good plan. What about the CCT?" Yang asked.

"That is in the process of being fixed," Ironwood said. Glynda, Yang and Ozpin stared at him. "What?"

"You couldn't have mentioned that earlier?" Glynda asked, exasperated.

"I only sent a team of engineers to fix it this morning. Besides, I thought everyone had forgotten about it." Ironwood said defensively.

"So when can we leave for Mistral?" Yang asked

"We can leave when you have your prosthetic fitted. Is that ok with you?" Ironwood asked.

"Yes. I'm actually excited to see what it will be like." Yang admitted.

* * *

"Here you go, Milady," Hiccup said, handing Astrid her newly repaired axe as they stood in the forge.

She tried out a few practice swings with the new axe. "It's a bit heavier than I'm used to."

Hiccup winced. "Sorry, but I thought it would be better to use metal for the handle than wood, because… well, you know."

"It's fine Hiccup. I'm sure I'll be able to adjust eventually." Astrid then noticed a metal shield in the corner of the room. "Who's shield is that?" she asked.

Hiccup followed her gaze. "That's a shield Glynda and I made yesterday."

"Is it just a shield, or…?"

Hiccup picked it up and opened it. "Nope. It also has throwing knives inside. Watch this."

Hiccup took one and dropped it on the ground. Then the handle glowed purple, and it was drawn back to the shield, handle first. "Ta-da!" Hiccup bowed and Astrid burst out laughing at the act.

"Can you make me a spare weapon? Just in case my axe breaks again, or it gets knocked out of my hands and I can't reach it."

"Your wish is my command, Milady," Hiccup said, putting down the shield and picking up a piece of paper and a pencil. "Any ideas in mind?" Hiccup asked.

"Something small-ish, but dangerous."

"Hmm." Hiccup drew a design on the paper and showed it to her. "How about this?"

"That's… interesting. I've got no idea how to fight with one of them." Astrid replied.

"Ok. Well, how about a pair of hand axes, like I have? They're small-ish and dangerous, and I can teach you how to fight with them."

"That's a great idea!" Astrid quickly embraced Hiccup and pressed her lips to his cheek.

"You're welcome, Astrid." Hiccup started up the fire in the forge, before suddenly facing Astrid again. "…What are we?" He asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Are we friends, or are we more than that?"

"More than that?"

"You know… like, boyfriend and girlfriend. We kissed before, but I don't think that really counted since we argued just after that."

"To be honest, I don't know either. So let's start again."

"Huh?" Hiccup turned to face her.

"Hi, I'm Astrid Hofferson. Would you like to become my boyfriend?"

"Oh, that's what you mean. Hi, I'm Hiccup Haddock. I would love to become your boyfriend if you will become my girlfriend?"

Astrid held Hiccup's gaze for a minute before they both laughed. "We're a mess," Astrid said, with a giggle.

"Yup" Hiccup agreed

"So we're dating now?"

"I guess so. Do you want me to start making your new weapons now?"

"Go ahead Hiccup," Astrid said, smiling

"As you wish Milady." Hiccup said, returning the smile and turning back to the fire in the forge to work on the weapons.

* * *

The next day, Yang was sitting on a hospital bed in the infirmary at the academy, trying not to look as nervous as she felt. The sight of a large needle, filled with anaesthetic greeted her and she couldn't take her eyes off it.

"Try not to move too much." Dr Polendina advised Yang as a nurse brought the needle closer.

"How much will this hurt?" Yang asked.

"It varies from person to person." the doctor replied.

"Great." Yang drawled. "Well, go ahead and get it over with."

The nurse holding the needle nodded and injected it into Yang's upper arm.

"That wasn't so bad" Yang commented.

"That's good. The rest of this procedure won't take very long then." Dr Polendina said.

Like Dr Polendina had said, the procedure was finished ten minutes later. Dr Polendina opened the door when it was finished, allowing Hiccup and Ruby to enter. Ruby came in a cloud of rose petals, hurrying to embrace Yang while Hiccup walked at a normal pace.

"How does it feel?" Hiccup asked when he reached her bed in the room.

Yang clenched her prosthetic into a fist to try it out. "It feels… natural. I thought it would feel heavy since it is made out of metal, but it feels great."

Hiccup nodded, while Ruby was hopping from one foot to the other. "Does it have any weapons?" Ruby wondered, clearly excited.

"Move your wrist" Dr Polendina instructed Yang. When Yang did so, a gun appeared at the wrist of the arm prosthetic.

"That's so cool!" Ruby squealed.

"Calm down Ruby," Yang and Hiccup both said.

"So what will we be doing now?"

"Now, Hiccup, it's time to deal with Raven. We're going to Mistral."

"What will Ozpin do then? We can't leave him here, can we?"

"He's coming with us. He's now part of the plan." Yang replied

"Can someone tell me what you two are talking about? Why are we going to Mistral?"

"Don't worry Ruby, I'll explain it to you on the way," Yang promised.

Later that day, an airship set off for Mistral, with Yang, Ruby Hiccup, Toothless, Ozpin, Glynda, Qrow and team JNPR inside. Ironwood was required to remain in Atlas, as he had the most important part in Yang's plan.

* * *

A/N: We're getting near the end of the Atlas Arc everyone. The next few chapters will focus on stuff that is taking place in Mistral or Atlas, before the focus will shift from Atlas to Vale, specifically at Beacon. Yang's plan will also be set in motion, obviously. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and if you did, then don't forget to leave a review!

P.S. I'm out of ideas for Omakes, so pm me with any ideas you guys have


	25. Lost and Found

A New World

Chapter 25: Lost and Found

A/N: Hear ye, Hear ye. Another chapter has arrived.

Before we begin, I have a message for my reviewers - CajunBear73 and Greer123. Do you two have any constructive criticism that you could give me when you review this chapter? I would like to improve my writing anywhere I can.

That's all. Enjoy the chapter.

* * *

The call of a group of seagulls was heard as a ship moved over peaceful blue waters.

Passengers on the ship strolled across both the upper and mid decks.

Blake Belladonna rested her hands on the railing and stared out at the ocean. She blinked and looked over her shoulder, somewhat startled.

Two kids laughed over a joke. Blake almost smiled and turned to look back at the ocean.

"Traveling alone?"

Blake jumped and gripped the hilt of her weapon - Gambol Shroud. She froze in place when she saw the captain of the ship.

"Now, now, no need for that. Just here to chat." the captain said as he held up his hands in a reassuring manner.

Blake hesitated before she relaxed her posture a bit. "And why is that?"

The Captain lowered his arms and then stepped forward to lean idly onto the railing. "Well, not many people travel by boat alone. It can be quite a lonely voyage. Those that _do_ tend to travel alone have some of the more… interesting stories… in my experience at least."

Blake turned away from the Captain. "Maybe it's just… better for some people to be alone."

The two kids from before ran past, behind Blake, laughing, and she gasped again, not expecting the noise behind her. She turned and blinked at them, trying to retain her calmness.

The Captain laughed. "Maybe, but with your paranoia, I think a few friendly faces wouldn't hurt."

"Who says I'm paranoid?!" Blake demanded.

The Captain laughed again. "No one, dear, no one. I'll leave you be."

The Captain turned and walked away, then stopped and looked back at Blake. "Allow me to give you a fair warning: these trips can be awfully boring."

The Captain continued on his way, and Blake stared after him. Once he was out of sight, she turned and looked at the deck for a few seconds before reaching up and undoing her bow.

She held the ribbon out over the railing. "Won't be needing this."

Blake let go and watched the ribbon twirl in the air once before landing in the water. She turned and walked away, going inside the ship's main deck.

She passed inside, but failed to notice a hooded figure watching her from a distance.

She too did not notice the black, red and white skin of a pair of sea creatures which could be seen moving just above the surface of the water. As they passed, the ribbon sunk beneath the waves.

* * *

Hiccup was using his scroll to make a search on the CCT when Yang approached his seat on the airship.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm looking for a certain missing Faunus… A friend and teammate of yours, last time I checked." Hiccup replied. Yang glanced at the scroll, noticing that the words "Blake Belladonna" were entered into a search bar at the top of the screen.

"Why are you looking for her?" Hiccup looked at Yang as she spoke, taking in her annoyed expression.

"Why do you think? She's a friend and your teammate. _You_ should be the one looking for her you know."

"I protected her before, lost an arm, and she disappeared without even saying goodbye, _or_ thanks, because I protected her. She's not a friend of mine anymore. Don't search for her, please."

Hiccup looked back at Yang, coming to a decision. "I want to talk to you."

Yang shook her head and pushed past him to take the lead, walking to the back of the airship where Ozpin and Glynda were, and refusing to meet Hiccup's disappointed gaze. Ruby moved beside him. "What happened between you two?" she asked.

"I was looking on the CCT to try and see if I could find out where Blake is, and Yang found out. She told me they're not friends anymore." Hiccup replied.

"Again?" Ruby sighed before she tightened her hands into fists. "I'm going to talk to her later. This can't go on."

"Good luck with that Ruby, and thanks." Ruby nodded and the silence returned. Nothing further was said between them, until the airship landed in Mistral.

They disembarked, with Ozpin and Glynda leading the way, Hiccup and Astrid immediately behind them, while Yang and Ruby took up the rear.

Hiccup then decided to approach Ozpin.

"So where are we going to stay?" Hiccup asked.

"We're going to a safehouse. Qrow would stay at one similar, whenever he was busy with a mission on my behalf," Ozpin replied.

"So that's why he was always away," Yang said.

"He never told you?" Ozpin asked

"No,"

"Perhaps that is partly my fault then. You should know that he went on missions to keep an eye on Raven and find out about Salem's plans."

"Huh, ok," Yang said.

Silence returned to the group before they arrived at the safehouse. Ozpin took out a key and opened the door. They followed after him.

"So what do we do now?" Ruby asked.

"For now, you can do whatever you want. _Tomorrow_ , however, Hiccup and Glynda will meet Leonardo Lionheart - headmaster of Haven Academy."

"Why can't you do it yourself?" Yang asked.

"Well if I entered the school, everyone would wonder why a fourteen-year-old boy is there. I could walk around as well myself, but nobody would believe a boy claiming to be the headmaster of Beacon. Only the teachers know about my… ability. On top of that - Salem could have spies among the students."

"Salem can't do that, can she?"

"Believe me, she can. In fact, if memory serves, she managed to have a group of three students apply for Beacon successfully. Two of them took part in a crime beforehand, which Hiccup thankfully noticed. If not for that, they would have got in just fine."

"Alright."

"You can go explore Mistral as you wish, Miss Xiao Long. That goes for everyone else as well."

"Ok. Care to go help me upgrade my weapons, Ruby?" Hiccup asked.

"Sure!" Ruby nodded vigorously and rushed to the door in her rose petal cloud form.

"You'll be needing this," Ozpin said, tossing the door key in Hiccup's direction. He caught it and left with Ruby.

"Hey, uh… Astrid?" Yang asked

"Yes?"

"Up for sparring with me?" she suggested.

"I'm up for it. Just don't expect me to go easy on you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Yang smirked. Astrid mirrored the act.

"There's a sparring room down the stairs over there." Ozpin said, pointing at a side door. "…And I would be cautious around miss Xiao Long, miss Hofferson. She was one of the best students in her year."

"Ok."

The pair then headed for the sparring room downstairs.

"I'm going to keep an eye on Yang, to make sure she doesn't go too far." Glynda said to Ozpin, before following them downstairs.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Ruby were walking along a fairly empty street on which every building was made primarily out of wood.

"So what upgrade did you want to make to your weapons?" Ruby asked.

"I think it would be useful if my weapons used dust bullets from now on."

"That sounds cool!" Ruby squealed

"Can I ask you a question?" He asked. Ruby nodded. "How did you find out that I had made my shield?"

Ruby looked away, cheeks red with embarrassment as she poked her index fingers together. "Um…"

Hiccup waited for her answer, but it soon became clear that she wasn't going to say anything. "Did you see me go into the forge?"

"Yup!" Ruby immediately seized the helpful answer. "I saw you go in the forge and heard you talking about making a shield with Professor Goodwitch."

"Ok. Do you think _your_ weapon needs any upgrades?"

"Nope! Crescent Rose is perfect already!"

"Are you _sure_ you don't want your weapon to use dust?"

Her eyes narrowed in mock suspicion. "What are you trying to say?"

"All I'm trying to say it would make your weapon more powerful."

Ruby nodded once. "I'll think about it. Now, do you see a forge anywhere?"

Hiccup looked around. "Nope. Can't see any. But there is someone looking at you."

"Really? Who is-"

"Ruby?"

She spun around. "Neptune?! Hi!"

"What are you guys doing here?" Neptune asked.

Neptune was a boy with tan skin, dark-blue eyes and messy light-blue hair in the form of an undercut.

"Well right now, my friend here is looking for a forge to upgrade his weapons."

Neptune looked at Hiccup as if noticing him for the first time. "Hello, I'm Neptune. Nice to meet you…?"

"Hiccup."

"Hiccup" Neptune stated, desperately trying not to laugh but failing spectacularly. "No last name?"

"I have one, but the last time I told my full name to someone, a friend of mine was almost captured. And we've only just met, so…"

"…Wow. Rough life huh?"

"I guess you could say that… Anyways, I don't suppose you'd know if there are any forges nearby?"

"Sure I do! Actually, my team is waiting for me in a forge just a few streets away. Come, I'll show you."

They started to walk again. "So, Neptune, you said your team was waiting for you at this forge?" Hiccup asked.

"Well, technically not my _entire_ team. Our leader isn't in Mistral, unfortunately. We haven't seen or spoken to him in months."

"What happened to him? Hopefully, he's not -"

"He's probably not dead if that's what you were implying. He just wanted to keep an eye on the girl he likes. Sun's his name, stalking girls cross country is his game."

"By _a_ girl, I _think_ he means Blake." Ruby said to Hiccup.

"Wait, is he a monkey Faunus by any chance?"

"Yup. You know him?"

"I met him when Blake decided to leave Beacon. I'm not sure when they first met, but they both decided to stay the night in my forge in Vale."

"Well _that's_ interesting. I'm sure Sage and Scarlet would like to hear that story."

"Sage, Scarlet and Sun? You're the odd one out on your team, aren't you?"

"Yes, it gets annoying being named different from everyone else on your team."

"I know what it's like to be an outcast."

Neptune looked at him. "Is that to do with your name?"

"Kind of. But I don't want to say more about it, it brings up some bad memories."

Neptune nodded in acceptance. "I'll take you to the forge now."

* * *

It was now dusk, and the ship continued its journey on the smooth water. There was a peaceful bird call, and Blake found herself once again on the middle deck looking out at the ocean. A Faunus couple walked behind her and she watched them, slightly less twitchy than before.

It's when she was about to leave that she finally sensed that she was being watched by someone on the upper deck. Seeing it was a hooded figure, she immediately drew Gambol Shroud.

"Who's there?!"

The hooded figure turned and ran for it. Blake stared up at the deck, no longer watching the ocean. She didn't notice the dorsal fins of sea creatures momentarily surface. She _did_ , however, feel the boat rocking on the wake they created, grunting as she tried to keep her balance.

Blake turned around to face the water. Looking down, she finally saw the creatures breaching the surface.

They resembled very large dolphins, with the bone plating of Grimm covering most of their bodies. Eerie red eyes narrowed as they focused on Blake, before disappearing under the water.

The ship then lurched, as both creatures rammed the ship.

"RED ALERT!" the voice of a crew member shouted.

The alarm immediately sounded, followed by a shout from a crew member. Two red lights next to a speaker pulse with the noise. The Captain and his First Mate came running out to look at the situation from the upper deck, just above Blake. The Captain murmured as he watched the creatures surface again.

"Oh no!" The captain turned and called out to the ship. "All hands to battle stations! We've got a pod of Isonade's to deal with!"

"Yes, sir!" Came the reply from the crew.

"Let's hope no more pods show up. We could capsize! Keep 'er steady boys!"

Blake sprang into action, jumping off the boat and into the air. She activated her semblance, creating a clone to step off of and give her some more momentum while flinging Gambol Shroud downward in its kusarigama form. Attached to the ribbon on her wrist, it embeded itself into one of the two Isonade's backs.

In response, the Grimm dove, and took Blake with it. Blake attempted to fire a shot but was rammed by the other Isonade before she could.

Meanwhile, the captain was busy keeping the ship stabilized in the Grimm's wake. He stepped outside to get another look at it when he could, but moments like those were rare. The Grimm leapt out of the water, yanking Blake in an attempt to dislodge her from its back.

Blake pulled the trigger, managing to shoot it before it plunged back into the water. The side of the ship opened up and the cannons came out.

When the Isonade surfaced once more, Blake ripped her weapon from its back and jumped back to the ship, hearing it cry out in pain. The ship's cannons fired and hit the injured Isonade that Blake had attacked earlier, killing it. Missing the other Isonade, she watched it dive back into the water unscathed.

Blake landed back on the ship, bounced, and quickly got herself back onto her feet. Her left shoulder was hurt apparently, yet she forced herself to stand.

The captain was steering again. "Hold steady men, we're not done with it yet! GET THE HEAVY CANNON LOADED!"

The largest cannon on the ship rose up through a trapdoor on the deck, extended itself, and took aim at the remaining Grimm. As if it could sense the danger it was in, the Grimm rammed the ship. Blake cried out as she hung on with her inconveniently injured left arm.

"Heavy cannon, OPEN FIRE!" The captain ordered, the moment the Grimm surfaced again.

The heavy cannon fired a shot, striking the Grimm just once to kill it. The captain stepped out onto deck to look at the water once more. "The Grimm is dead. Keep the canons loaded in case more appear!" He ordered.

Blake made to stand but was knocked aside by the same cloaked figure from before. "Hey!"

The figure grunted and the cloak fell back, revealing one Sun Wukong.

"Sun?!" Blake exclaimed in surprise.

"Heya Blake!"

"What are you doing here Sun!?"

"Keeping an eye on a reckless Faunus I saw. Diggin' the new outfit, by the way!" He pointed at her ears which were open to the air. "Never did like the bow."

Blake slapped his hand away. "Sun!"

"Geez! I was complimenting you! Relax."

"Have you been following me?!"

He didn't reply for a few seconds too long, and she quickly became impatient. With a cry, she swung her arm around to slap him in the face. "Answer me!"

Sun clutched his cheek and looked a touch abashed. "I saw you run off the night Beacon Tower was destroyed… Once we landed in Vale, you made sure everyone was okay, and then you just took off without saying anything!"

"I had to! You wouldn't understand..."

"No, I get it! The moment you left, I knew _exactly_ what you were doing!"

Blake smiled at him, pleased at feeling understood.

"You're going on a one-woman rampage against the White Fang!"

Blake's briefly happy feelings fell. "What?" she asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.

"You always felt like the Fang was _your_ fight. They show up, trash your school, and then hurt your friends… It makes perfect sense!"

Blake face-palmed and let out a frustrated groan. "I can't believe this is what you _actually_ think."

"But there's no way I'm letting you do this alone! It's an honourable approach, sure, but you're going to need _someone_ to watch your back. And that's where _I_ come in!" Sun put his arm around her. "Us Faunus have got to stick together, after all."

"You're wrong, Sun." Blake shook her head and pushed his arm away. "You're so, so wrong."

She turned her back on him and walked away.

"What are you…"

"I'm not going anywhere near the White Fang. Not yet." Blake stated.

"Seriously?" Sun was now looking at her in disbelief.

"I need to sort some things out first."

"Then why not do it with your team? Your friends? Or the teachers at Beacon?"

" _You're_ one to talk about not bringing your team! After all, I assume Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet aren't hiding below deck!" Blake snapped.

"You really think I could get Neptune on the ocean? Have you forgotten he's terrified of water? They flew back to Mistral! I told them I'd catch up! It's not the first time I left them to take a boat!" He shuffled a bit uncomfortably. "So, if you're not going after the White Fang, where are you going?"

"I'm going home. To Menagerie."

"Well _I'm_ coming with you. Just because you're not going after the Fang doesn't mean they won't be coming for you! Besides, I'm kinda already on the boat, Blake."

"There's really no stopping you, is there?"

"Nope! This is going to be great! Never been to Menagerie before! It'll be a regular journey to the East! I like the sound of that!"

Despite herself, Blake found herself smiling at Sun's antics. "Alright then, Sun, you can come with me... But I'm hungry, and it's time to eat."

* * *

Hiccup and Ruby were on their way back from the forge with Neptune's team. Hiccup had left his weapons back at the forge to be worked on by the weaponsmith after Neptune had introduced Hiccup to his teammates, Sage and Scarlet. As they walked, Hiccup glanced at each of the people in the trio.

Neptune was wearing a white dress shirt and black tie under a red jacket. The jacket was adorned with a wide, upturned, black collar and a silver reticle across the back.

He also sported a pair of grey jeans with black padding strapped to the sides as well as black shoes fastened with velcro straps instead of laces.

In addition, Neptune had a pair of yellow tinted goggles on his forehead and black fingerless gloves.

Meanwhile, Sage had dark skin and yellow eyes. His hair was appropriately sage green, and he appeared to have tattoos of wings on his chest as well as tattoos of Roman numerals, matching those on his sword, around his neck.

He wore a white long coat with asymmetrical sleeves, a green wing design similar to his tattoos and no shirt underneath, displaying his tattooed chest. His jacket also has a golden pauldron on his right shoulder and a golden cuff around his left wrist. He also wore a pair of dark pants fastened by a white belt with a yellow buckle.

Lastly, Scarlet had - appropriately - red hair that came down over his right eye, with a complete undercut. There were several red markings around his left eye. He wore a green, mulberry, navy colour feather earring on his left ear and had a red military pelisse-like jacket draped over his left side. A grey bandanna hung around his neck.

On Scarlet's right hand was a fingerless glove, and on his right bicep, was a grey band. He wore a white sleeveless shirt and light grey pants. A pair of long, brown, laced boots ran up his shins. Around his waist, he wore a brown belt and another, slightly slanted grey belt that his weapon holster is attached to.

They arrived back at the safehouse where the others were staying and Hiccup opened the door. Entering, Hiccup was greeted with the sight of Astrid holding an ice pack to her forehead, while Yang had a victorious smirk on her face.

"Uh… what happened?" Hiccup asked.

"Miss Hofferson and Miss Xiao Long decided to spar." Ozpin said.

"Isn't that the voice of Professor Ozpin?" Neptune asked.

"Yes it is, and you know what? He can explain how he's alive because I'm not doing it. He can also explain and show them Toothless. Where is he by the way?" Hiccup asked

"He's taking a nap downstairs," Astrid said.

Ozpin shot Hiccup a look of betrayal. "Oh shut up. You let someone who is definitely not huntress level when it comes to fighting, spar with one of the best first years at Beacon. It's a miracle she isn't seriously injured. So consider that punishment."

"Astrid is _fine_ though. What's the issue here?" Yang said.

"I believe I've already said what the issue is Yang... Try to keep up." Hiccup snapped. Yang wisely remained silent.

"You don't need to worry Hiccup. I had an idea of what I was getting into. We all saw Yang fight during the Vytal festival."

"She put someone much stronger than you in the hospital you know, Astrid." Hiccup said, ignoring Yang's protest at his statement.

"Glynda kept an eye on them as well. Miss Hofferson wasn't in any danger." Ozpin protested.

"Then I will make sure to thank Glynda later. For now I've got a call to make.." Hiccup took out his scroll and dialled a number.

* * *

It was now night-time on the middle deck of the ship. Blake was at the railing again, staring out towards the couldn't see much, but she enjoyed the peace and quiet of the night.

Then her scroll rang in her pocket, interrupting the calm moment.

"Hello?" Blake said when she responded to the call.

"Greetings, Blake." Blake's eyes widened.

"Hiccup?!" Blake suddenly heard a shout in the background.

"Uh… hold on, Blake." The line went quiet for a few seconds before Blake heard the sound of footsteps receding.

"Sorry about that. A certain teammate of yours heard me mention your name, but Ruby is dealing with her. I really need to get her some cookies… Anyway, where were we?"

"Y-You were in a coma."

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

"How are you able to call me?"

"Well obviously I'm _not_ in a coma, and the CCT was fixed." Hiccup drawled.

"I don't remember you being this sassy when we last talked." Blake said dryly.

"I don't remember you being nervous enough to vanish into thin air. That's my thing. But we don't get what we want, do we?" Hiccup said

"I wasn't aware that being nervous is your thing." Blake replied

"Being nervous isn't. Being nervous enough that you leave without anyone knowing, is. Well not exactly, someone _did_ find out before I could leave, but that doesn't matter. Where are you?"

"I'm on a boat. I'm going back home to see my parents in Menagerie."

"Ok. Is Sun with you?"

"He's on the boat, but he's sleeping below deck. Why? And how did you know that?!"

"Ruby and I came across his team earlier."

"You're in Mistral, aren't you?"

"Yes. How'd you know?"

"Sun told me he sent his team there."

"Why didn't he bring them with him?"

"Well, Neptune is afraid of water, and he told me he would catch up with them later."

"What are you going to do after you've gone back home? Are you going to stay in Megnarie forever?"

"I don't know. I'd like to tell you that I have an idea, but I don't. I don't even know if I can continue being a huntress after this. Adam attacked Yang _because of me_. How do I move on from that?"

"Well, you could start with facing the fact that this isn't your fault."

"How can you say that?!" Blake shouted into her scroll. Hiccup winced and held his scroll at arm's length for a moment.

"Please don't do that again. I'd rather not go deaf."

Blake winced but did not apologize. "But it's true! Adam cut Yang's arm off, right in front of me, because she was _protecting_ _me_!"

"Did you tell him to cut off her arm? Did you do it yourself?"

"N-No, but that's not how it works."

"Then how _does_ it work? how is it your fault? What makes it _your_ fault, and not Adam's?" Blake had no reply to give Hiccup.

" I'll take your silence to mean I'm correct."

"Don't act smug." Blake grumbled.

"Hey, I'm the one keeping team RWBY together right now, or at least what's left of it, since Yang's said you're no longer her friend, and Weiss is still stuck in Atlas. You should be thanking me."

"I will when I get back. Good luck with Yang."

"Thanks. I'll be needing it, I think. Goodnight Blake."

"Goodnight Hiccup." The call ended, and Blake continued to stare out at the water, before eventually heading below deck to sleep.

* * *

Putting his scroll away, Hiccup was approached by Ruby and Toothless, the latter of which attempted to tackle him. "Thanks for the help with Yang, Ruby."

"You're very welcome."

"Are _you_ okay? This must be hard on you, with your sister not wanting to hear or see one of your mutual friends."

"I don't like it, but I'm sure I'll be able to make them make up again when we see Blake again… and hey if not, I'll get Weiss to do it. She'll be willing to help."

Hiccup laughed. "She'll definitely help. Anyways, it's getting late, so I'm going to head to bed. You should probably do the same."

"Not yet, I need to see how Jaune and his team are doing first." Ruby said, taking out her scroll.

"Just don't stay up _too_ late." Hiccup looked around the room. "I'm going to assume Neptune and his teammates left already?

"Yup. They left a minute or two ago."

"Ah, that makes sense… Well, goodnight Ruby."

"Goodnight Hiccup." Ruby giggled as she watched Toothless tackle Hiccup once more, succeeding in knocking him over and licking him thoroughly, ignoring his human's protests. Hiccup then managed to stand up when Toothless stopped the action, where he was able to go to sleep under Toothless' wings.

* * *

A/N: Another chapter done. Next chapter will involve a trip to Haven Academy, as well as something that _I_ think will be interesting. It will be happening over in Atlas by the way. This event in Atlas will involve a few characters that haven't got much focus in my story, so I hope you all enjoy it when the time comes.

I know I don't get many reviews, but a few more reviews from people other than CajunBear73 and Greer123 would be nice for a change. (That isn't to say I don't like their reviews mind you) More reviews would let me know if everyone is enjoying what I'm writing, and if there are things that could make the story better. So please review if you can.

Until next time everyone.

Silvolde


	26. Unforeseen Consequences

A New World

Chapter 26: Unforeseen Consequences

A/N: Before we begin, I would like to admit that I messed up by including a scene last chapter that made no sense. The scene where Hiccup and Ruby encounter Roman and Neo. It was rather pointless and it had no real bearing on the story. It has been removed, so you might want to read the chapter again as it was changed to reflect the scene now being gone.

Anyway, exciting things have been planned this chapter.

I hope you all enjoy it!

* * *

Looking down at Atlas academy, the airship Winter Schnee and James Ironwood were standing in began to move.

"Sir, my mission?" Winter asked the General.

"Strictly recon, Specialist," he said. "I need to know everything you can find about that underground base. It does beg the question of how they managed to build it without being noticed by now."

"It may not be very big, sir," Winter replied

"Let's hope so," Ironwood mused. "We can work over the details when we get closer to the base. On other matters, if I may ask, have you spoken to your sister lately?"

"Not since she was brought back to Atlas by my father," Winter said. "She often prefers to speak to me when I visit home as I can usually talk to her for longer than when I call her with my scroll."

"Alright. Is she adjusting well? The attack on Beacon must have been hard on her, and for her to then be taken back to Atlas immediately afterwards…"

"She despises being there. She's miserable." Winter replied.

"Then I suppose Jacque wants her to become the heir to the SDC, and either hasn't noticed that she is miserable or doesn't care."

"It's the latter sir. He always thought Weiss's wish to become a huntress a childish notion, one that my brother Whitely seems to agree with wholeheartedly. Jacque isn't used to not getting what he wants."

"Yes, sadly I know that well. It's one thing I dislike about the man, being the cause of arguments in the past. When he objected to you joining the military for one, as you know. And what do you think Weiss will do about it, Winter?"

"I think she will be looking for a way to leave, sir. Perhaps at that fundraiser that he has set up for Beacon Academy."

"Hmm" Ironwood rubbed his chin in thought. "And would you attend it?"

"No, sir. I personally despise such events. But I would admittedly like to see my little sister again soon."

"How about I assign you to the fundraiser? I'm certain Weiss would like to see you." Ironwood winked.

"I wouldn't like to impose, sir."

"You're not imposing Winter. Accept, or I'll order you to attend." Ironwood said, the ghost of a smile appearing.

"I accept sir."

"Good, I'll see you there then Specialist."

A soldier marched over to them. "We've reached the coordinates you asked us to head to, sir. What should we do now sir?"

"Prepare to land when I give the order." The soldier saluted him and marched away.

"Now, I recommend you get ready for your mission, Specialist."

"Sir" Winter saluted before marching away as well.

Winter found her locker on the airship. Inside, her sabre and an earpiece were stored. She took out her sabre and strapped it to her hip. She took out her earpiece and placed behind her right ear before returning to Ironwood who was standing on the bridge of the airship.

Ironwood then prepared to address the group of five soldiers that stood a few meters in front of him - Winter standing as one of the tallest in the group - before they set off on their mission.

The soldiers, doing final checks on their equipment, from earpieces to rifles, all standard issue save for Winter's sabre. Ironwood noted they all looked professional and appeared ready to go.

"Alright. It was recently discovered that the White Fang has an underground base at this location. Not a lot is known about this base. We don't know its size, the amount of personnel within or even what the base is used for."

"However," Ironwood continued. "We do know that there is a gate that guards the entrance. Two guards are expected to be posted at the gate, with cameras watching the entrance from within."

"That is why you're here, as I'm sure you've guessed by now. You will be working under Specialist Schnee's command. It goes without saying that you should all proceed with caution. Good luck. Dismissed."

Winter and her assigned team of soldiers then headed to the docking bay where a collection of bullheads were located.

Winter turned to her soldiers when they reached the bay. "Alright, listen up!"

"Yes, ma'am." her group of soldiers said in unison.

"Since we don't know much about the White Fang base we are performing recon on, we'll be approaching the base using stealth, until we're close enough to drop the cameras. Once the cameras are destroyed, the base will be alerted. Shoot to kill. Our objective is the command centre. Once we reach it, Simon here will access whatever computers, storage devices or servers they have and download any intel we can get our hands on. Then we get out."

Winter saw a pilot head over to one of the bullheads and instructed her soldiers to follow.

Entering, she knocked on the door of the cockpit. "We need to land on the surface."

"Yes, ma'am" the pilot replied and proceeded to take off.

They landed and the group of five disembarked, stepping out into the cold Atlesian air before they proceeded to advance the remaining distance to the White Fang base.

* * *

Waking up, Hiccup opened his eyes to be greeted by pitch black darkness. It took a moment, but his thoughts drifted back to last night and he remembered where he was.

"Toothless." Hiccup said, reaching a hand out in front of him and touching the underside of the dragon's wing. "I'd like to get up now."

There was no reply, besides a suddenly audible snore from the dragon.

He tried again, but this time Toothless' wings pressed closer to Hiccup.

The third try yielded similar results, with Hiccup feeling as if he were in his father's embrace due to how tightly wrapped Toothless' wings now were.

'Well, I guess I'm stuck here for now.' Hiccup thought to himself as he gave up from trying to wake up Toothless, and instead turned into his mouse form and pulled himself from the embrace he was in.

Once free, Hiccup turned back into his normal form and stretched, feeling his neck crack as he did so.

"Lazy reptile," Hiccup muttered as he looked at Toothless, who was still snoring. "How can you sleep through that?"

A quiet voice spoke up from behind him. "Good morning."

Hiccup turned to look at the person, belatedly realizing it was Glynda. Replying in turn, he decided to follow with a question.

"So since we're going to meet the headmaster of Haven Academy today. Is there anything I should know about him?"

Glynda gave him a questioning look.

"I mean, is he able to use magic like Ozpin?" Hiccup elaborated

"No. He's just the headmaster of Haven. He's a Lion Faunus though."

"What's a Lion?"

"It's an animal."

"I figured that out already. That's redundant given he's a Faunus." Hiccup drawled.

"It's an animal that is known for being… fierce. Usually found in warmer places like Vacuo." Hiccup nodded.

"So am I to assume that this headmaster is as good at fighting as Ozpin is?"

"No. He's actually easily scared and usually nervous in a fight."

Hiccup blinked. "How nervous do you have to be, to be a trained huntsman and the headmaster of a school where the main focus is learning to fight and still be scared?"

"I have no idea, but nevertheless, he is friends with Ozpin."

"Right, so shall we go-" Hiccup stopped talking as a red portal formed behind Glynda.

Raven then stepped out of it. She looked around the room before looking at the two sole occupants. "This is different. We're not in Atlas I'm guessing?"

"Oh for the love of Thor, what is it now?!" Hiccup demanded.

"Why are you here Raven?" Glynda asked.

"I'm here to borrow him. I'm going to need every tribe member I can get."

"Stop talking about me like I want to be part of your tribe. I had no choice but to join and you know it."

"Details, details. It doesn't matter now. Come on."

Raven turned to leave when Hiccup's reply stopped her. "I'm not going anywhere until you let Gobber out of his cage."

"Done. Vernal?" Moments later, Gobber was shoved through Raven's portal. He stood up with difficulty, as his hands were still bound and he was still gagged.

"I-Is this an urgent problem? Because I think I need to process the fact you actually did something I asked."

Raven sighed before smirking. "Alright. I'll give you an hour and no more."

When Raven left, Hiccup proceeded to untie the cloth that was wrapped around Gobber's hands and remove his gag, allowing him to speak unhindered.

"No, it can't. What do you think has Raven so worried"

"My guess would be her tribe is under attack," Glynda suggested. "That or she is preparing to attack someone."

"Who would be so strong that she needs everyone in her tribe to attack them? And why would attacking someone else make Raven scared?" Hiccup asked.

"We should tell Ozpin about it. Maybe he'll have an idea of what has got her so scared." Glynda suggested.

"Let's go find him then." Hiccup said.

"We've got a problem" Glynda said when they found him. He had been talking to Yang before Glynda, Hiccup and Gobber arrived.

"What is it?" Ozpin asked.

"Raven showed up recently. She says she wants me to travel to her tribe." Hiccup explained.

"And what are you going to do, Hiccup?"

"I haven't got any idea. I was hoping you could help with that. Also, what could scare Raven so much that she requires every member of her tribe to help out? That's what she mentioned when she came here, at least."

Ozpin looked thoughtful. "Hmm. I have an idea, but there is only one way to know for certain."

"I have to go back to her tribe, don't I?"

"Yes"

Hiccup groaned. "Alright, so you three will be going to meet this headmaster, right?"

"Yup. Have fun with Raven." Yang said.

"Can I attempt to persuade you to switch places with me, Yang?"

"Uh…no. I told you to not search for Blake, and you called her while I was in the same room. Good luck Hiccup." Yang then left the room.

"Joy" Hiccup sighed, now resigned to his fate.

Glynda shot him a sympathetic look. "You tried your best Hiccup. I'll talk to Yang when Ozpin, Yang and I get back after meeting with Lionheart."

Hiccup nodded. "I'll see you later then."

Gobber, who had remained silent until now, spoke up. "Care to fill me in on what's going on?"

"The person who had you put in a cage is called Raven. A friend of mine had a plan to rescue you, but it's kinda fallen apart since she just handed you over. Now, we're wondering why she did it so easily. We think something has got her scared because she needs me to help fight with her for some reason."

"Ok. Maybe I can help with that."

"Help? How?"

"I overheard some people arrive and talk to Raven yesterday. I, didn't understand what they were talking about, but I know there were five of them. One of them sounded insane. He was giggling as he spoke."

"I should let Ozpin and Glynda know, but I don't think that tells us a lot. Sorry, Gobber."

"Don't worry Hiccup. I think it was a long shot anyway. So! How have you been these past few years?" Gobber asked with a grin.

"That's quite a long story."

"I've got time Hiccup. Tell me everything."

* * *

A faunus guard was sitting on a chair in front of a CCTV screen, when suddenly the camera that was watching the entrance to the base picked up a brief flash before the view went down.

The faunus nudged the guard in the seat beside him and pointed at the screen. The second guard's eyes widened and he stood up.

"We should check that out. Come on."

The gate opened and the two faunus stepped out to investigate. They were then grabbed and knocked out simultaneously before the soldiers entered the base. They found themselves in a corridor with doors on either side.

"Alright, so we need to find the command centre. Remember, shoot to kill from now on." Winter instructed. The four other soldiers nodded and moved down the corridor.

Out of the corner of her eye, Winter spotted a door on her right that was slightly ajar. She stepped closer and pushed the door open with her foot. Finding the room empty, she stepped inside. The room was on the smaller side, containing a single desk, with two chairs and a monitor that displayed various views of the base. There was a smaller monitor placed next to it and it was connected to a single computer underneath the desk.

'Well it seems I've found the command centre already' Winter thought.

She headed for the door and looked at the corridor in both directions. Not seeing any of the soldiers nearby, Winter raised a hand to her earpiece.

"I've found the command centre. You're up Simon."

"Yes, ma'am," came the reply.

Simon entered the room and made a beeline for the computer. Taking out his scroll, he produced a cable and connected it to the computer.

"So how long will this take?" Winter asked after a minute had passed.

"About five minutes, ma'am." Simon replied, watching his scroll.

"Ok. I'll keep an eye on the door," Winter announced.

"O-one… minute l-left." Simon reported after some time had passed.

Winter blinked blearily, not knowing when she had begun feeling tired.

She straightened up in an effort to stay awake but her body protested at the action. She slumped slightly before feeling her eyes close again.

She straightened up again, her eyelids now feeling like lead.

The last thing she remembered, before everything went black, was Simon announcing that he got all the intel he could find in a slurred voice, followed by what might have been a thud.

* * *

When she woke up, Winter found herself in a steel room with one long and narrow window that let her see into the next room.

She was tied up in front of the window, in the rooms only chair. Craning her neck, she noticed there was a table placed directly underneath the window, in the next room. The door slammed shut as she was looking into the room.

This time, looking straight ahead, Winter noticed that there was a button on the far side of the next room, beside the door. She wondered what it was for as the silence prolonged.

Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, the door in the next room opened and four White Fang goons entered. They were each carrying two objects each. They were placed at the window before the goons left the room.

Winter bristled as she recognised the objects as Atlas Military helmets and guns. These had been in use by the four soldiers that she was in charge of when her mission had begun.

Each of the visors that were a part of the helmets sported several cracks, with one of the visors being broken entirely.

The door then opened again and a new figure entered the room. Winter tensed, recognising the figure immediately.

"You're the leader of this base I assume?" she asked

"I am now, Schnee. It has been quite a recent development. The previous leader met an unfortunate end." Adam Taurus replied, placing his sword on the table, within view of the window.

Winter forced herself not to throw up at the sight of the red liquid that dripped off of the blade and onto the table surface.

"Like how you killed my men for no reason at all?"

"Hundreds of Faunus have been oppressed for years, working to the bone in the Dust mines belonging to your family's company. The death of four humans was a comparatively small price to pay."

"So this is just because my father is cruel to people that neither he, nor I, or anyone in my family could ever know? Not even you would know or speak for all of them. And you certainly don't. Not after Vale," Winter seethed.

"The attack on the Amity Colosseum was the White Fang finally getting the Faunus the respect we deserve."

"By indiscriminately killing both Humans and Faunus living in Vale."

"They are considered martyrs for our cause," Adam replied.

"You don't speak for the Faunus. You only speak for yourself."

"I can show you people who disagree, but it doesn't matter. You're now a prisoner of the White Fang."

"Have you forgotten about the airship outside?"

"It's long gone. Do you think that General Ironwood thinks that you're still alive Schnee?"

"The fact there is no corpse would make him suspicious."

"It would, but General Ironwood wouldn't attack a base he knows nothing about. He cannot. He can call the death of a few soldiers a 'mission gone wrong' but intervening further would end his career if it went wrong. So even he wouldn't send soldiers to try and rescue you, as humans like him only care about keeping their job."

"Well, if I am really a prisoner, then tell me: what is your end goal here? Why did the White Fang attack Vale and convince General Ironwood that I'm dead?"

"Well, the first reason is simply because someone who is more powerful than you or I asked me to. I didn't have a choice. The second reason is admittedly more personal against the Schnee family - Jacque Schnee in particular, but my boss did eventually agree with my plan. Regardless, I'll enjoy seeing his reaction when he hears the news of his daughter's supposed death."

"He doesn't care about me, and I don't care about him. I expect you'll be disappointed."

"We shall see," Adam stood up. "Enjoy your stay, Schnee." he then left the room. The door slammed shut behind him, leaving Winter alone with only her thoughts and the heavy silence of the room she was in.

* * *

"Glynda not around?" Raven asked when she returned.

"She went to go buy a few things." Hiccup said

"Alright." Raven looked him up and down. "Where are your weapons? You usually have them on you."

"They're at a forge, getting upgraded."

"That would be good news at any other time. I need to get you a weapon."

"I have throwing knives and a shield that I can bring. Would that help?"

"That should do fine, although I suspect you may need to practice a bit later on. Now, I need to visit… an acquaintance to collect something. You're coming with me. Bring your shield and let's go."

'More portal travel. Wonderful.' Hiccup thought dryly.

* * *

"So tell me, Raven. What would be enough to make you worried?" Hiccup asked when they were both were in the camp of Raven's tribe. Hiccup had his shield on his back.

"Wait and see," Raven replied curtly.

"You know, Yang told me a similar thing a few days ago. You two really are mother and daughter in that respect. It's almost like looking in a mirror."

"I'll consider my daughter lucky then."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and looked away, focusing on Raven's tent in the tribe's camp. "You know, I've been wondering why you left Taiyang after Yang was born."

A red portal sprung to life. "None of your business." Raven glared at him, her expression looking murderous.

"Why not? Full disclosure, I've never met my mother either, so I'm curious."

"Get in the portal," Raven growled.

"I will when you answer the question."

"Hiccup," she snarled. "Last warning."

"Let me tell you something, Raven. You've been getting under my skin for a while now. It's now my turn to get under your skin for once."

In response to this remark, Raven's eyes suddenly sported red flames. The strange thing was the flames didn't appear to be burning her eyes and were shooting out and away from her face.

Hiccup gulped, regretting what he had just said. "L-Let me guess, magic?" Raven nodded.

"Yeah… so I went too far here." Hiccup glanced at the portal. "If I go in there, can we forget this ever happened?"

"No"

"Thought not," Hiccup sighed. "Can I write a will?"

"Nope. But I will give you a piece of advice: Run."

"Thanks for the tip!" Hiccup yelled, sprinting for the portal and leaping into it, Raven's magic making contact with his clothing just before he reached the portal.

"HICCUP!" Raven roared.

* * *

On the other side, Hiccup got to his feet again and decided to keep a wide berth from the portal.

It was just as well, as Raven came through it seconds later. She stepped into the room and looked around.

"Who are you?" Raven asked, her expression changing from anger to confusion as she looked at Oscar. Her eyes trailed over to Leonardo Lionheart and she noticed his nervous gaze.

'Coward' she scoffed before asking aloud: "Why do you have a fourteen-year-old boy in your office?"

"Where are you Lionheart-" a new voice spoke up. Everyone spun round to look at whoever had spoken. "This was quite unexpected…"

There was a tall middle-aged man with a slim build and slightly tanned skin, standing in the doorway of Lionheart's office. He had short black and gray hair as well as a thick mustache and eyebrows, and green eyes.

He stroked his mustache as he stared at the occupants of the room before adjusting his grey overcoat.

"Who are you?" Glynda, Hiccup, Yang and Ozpin asked simultaneously.

"He's Arthur Watts. He decided to visit me with some friends of his." Raven said before she looked at Oscar, her expression clear that she had recognised Ozpin's voice.

"Well done Ozpin. You've given yourself away." Glynda sighed.

"Ozpin!" Raven roared.

Arthur Watts took a few wide eyed steps back, edging away from the door. "It seems like this is not the best time. I'll be back another day. I have places to be and people to speak to about this." The man then quickly fled.

Ozpin sighed. "Well, I think this day couldn't get much worse. Miss Xiao Long, Hiccup. Make sure our visitor doesn't escape. Glynda and I will deal with Raven here." Yang and Hiccup nodded and ran off in pursuit of him.

"Aren't you forgetting about me?" Lionheart asked.

"I'll need your help to fight old friend." Ozpin said.

"Alright, let me get my weapon." Lionheart said before he ran out of the room.

'I'll have questions for him later.' Ozpin thought.

"Now, Raven. I must admit you hide the fact that you have the Spring maiden's powers rather well."

"Thanks for the compliment. Now," Raven glanced at Glynda before focusing on Ozpin again. "You can avoid a fight. I only want to take the relic from Haven's vault."

"I can't allow that, but I'm sure you know why, since you know about the relics."

"Pity, but I figured as much. Are we going to fight or just keep talking?"

In response, Ozpin adjusted the grip on his cane and Glynda's riding crop began to glow purple. Raven used her magic to create a sword of ice before lunging at Glynda.

The fight had begun.

* * *

A/N: Never make Raven (or any maiden for that matter) mad. You screwed up Hiccup. Clearly, things have turned out quite badly for our group. I wonder how many of the readers of this story had guessed that was about to happen. Tell me in a review perhaps?

Either way, I wonder what you guys think of the story so far.

Until Next Time.

Silvolde.


	27. Sacrifice

A New World

Chapter 27: Sacrifice

A/N: I spent two days trying to figure out how to write katana sword fighting stances into a fight. The fight in question is also the longest and most planned out fight that I've ever written, so you lot better like it!

I think I will know enough about weapons to fight with just about any of them by the end of this story. Certainly Japanese swords and stuff, since a significant number of RWBY characters happen to use them.

Anyway, let's begin!

* * *

Raven advanced towards Glynda, preparing to slash at her. She held her ice dust coated sword, with both hands, above her head before bringing it down in an arc.

Glynda jumped back, avoiding the strike before responding with her semblance. With a flick of her crop, Lionheart's desk was lifted and hurled at the rogue huntress.

Without even a thought, a blue orb of magic flickered into life around Raven and brought the desk to a crashing halt, where it fell to the ground in front of her.

"Help Hiccup and Yang, Ozpin. I'll buy you time." Glynda said, not looking away from Raven.

"I can't do that. You'll die! I should be buying _you_ time."

"I'm wasn't asking. Go." Ozpin made no move, so Glynda gave a subtle nod towards the door and pushed him towards it with her semblance. As she did this, she felt her aura dip a little, not knowing whether it would make a difference in the upcoming fight.

Glynda turned back to Raven when Ozpin was gone. "Now, let's fight for real."

Raven nodded and sheathed her sword before she lunged at Glynda again, this time moving fast enough to appear like a blur, due to her maiden powers.

Glynda responded as she leapt to the side and hurled the pieces of Lionheart's desk at Raven again. This time, Raven met the attack head on. She drew her sword and held it as she had before; above her head with both hands. She brought the sword down in an arc, slicing it all the way through.

When the action was complete, Glynda could see that her sword was glowing various shades of red and orange as the blade was now coated in fire dust.

Raven then slashed at Glynda once more, this time holding the sword at waist height, close to halfway along the blade, instead of gripping the handle. still moving like a blur.

Glynda looked down and barely moved away in time to avoid the slash at her middle. Raven was still moving quite fast, so she repeated the action several more times.

Glynda was forced on the defensive, unable to do more than stop Raven from capitalizing on any openings. Raven eventually gave up and sheathed her sword, before continuing to look for any openings in Glynda's defence with her maiden powers.

Despite Glynda's best efforts, Raven eventually succeeded as she landed a powerful blast of ice using her maiden powers.

The blast dropped Glynda's aura to eighty per cent, then sixty and finally fifty per cent as her aura worked to keep her body temperature from dropping.

This distracted Glynda somewhat, allowing Raven to land two more hits in quick succession.

Raven was unable to hit her again, however, as Glynda launched what little that remained of Lionheart desk at Raven once again. Glynda followed up as she tore the sword from its sheath at her hip.

This left Raven defenceless as she was pelted by the countless pieces of Lionheart's desk, reducing her aura by a small amount for the first time in the fight.

* * *

While Raven and Glynda were fighting, Yang and Hiccup ran along the corridor outside of Lionheart's office in pursuit of Arthur. He ducked into a classroom ahead of them, making himself a target for Yang, who entered the room seconds after him.

Hiccup took out his scroll and dialled a number.

"Hello?" Ruby asked.

"How soon can you get here?" Hiccup demanded.

"I just woke up. What's wrong Hiccup?"

"There isn't enough time to explain. Just get here as soon as you can, Ruby." Hiccup then hung up.

Hiccup was now about to follow after Yang when a flaming rock collided with his feet, making him stumble and fall over. He got back up and looked around, seeing Lionheart standing behind him with an unusual weapon strapped to his arm.

"Why did you fire at me?"

"That was an accident." Hiccup didn't believe that. "Who are you anyway?"

"I'm Hiccup." He took his shield that had been strapped to his back and adopted a fighting stance; his prosthetic leg forward.

"Are you going to fight me? Do you really think you can win against me?"

"Against a headmaster?" He said, sweeping his eyes briefly over the two men in front of him. "No, but I only need to distract you for a little bit."

"What?"

"Hello, _friend_ ," drawled Ozpin. "I see you found your weapon."

Lionheart spun around. "Ozpin! Indeed I've found my weapon. Shall we deal with Raven now?"

Click!

Ozpin's cane extended and he gave it a few practice swings.

"Certainly. But, I must admit that I'm curious. What was that man, the one who entered your office, going to do? Why was he there?"

"I-I don't know."

"Hmm. He knows you by name, yet you don't know why he came to meet you?"

Lionheart gave a solemn nod. "Alright" Sighed Ozpin, with the disappointment audible in his voice as he pointed his cane at the traitor.

"O-Ozpin?" Stammered Lionheart, almost in disbelief.

"Do you really think I believe that? You don't sound like you believe that yourself."

"I…"

The trio all looked towards the sound as the door of a nearby classroom swung wide open and Yang stepped out, carrying an unconscious Arthur Watts slung over her shoulder.

"Took some time there Yang. You need to practice fighting again."

"He had a gun for one thing, and for another, shut up," said Yang.

"Oh good, for a minute there, I thought you were actually going to admit that you need to practice fighting. _Whatever was I thinking_." Hiccup rolled his eyes before facing Lionheart again.

"You need to come with us now" Hiccup stated.

Lionheart glanced at Ozpin, who had a stern expression. He took his weapon off his arm as a sign that he wouldn't fight them and looked at Hiccup again. "Where will you be taking me?"

"We're going to where we've been staying in town. Come on," said Yang, turning and walking away without another word.

* * *

Meanwhile, Raven and Glynda were still fighting. It would only be a matter of time before one of them lost, and both fighters were well aware of that.

Raven delivered a face height slash to Glynda, where the sword was held horizontally in front of Raven. Glynda easily avoided it, and in response, Glynda's riding crop began to glow red.

Raven noticed this and a quizzical expression formed on her face.

Bang!

Glynda had timed her planned action perfectly; activating her semblance and moving her riding crop towards Raven, just before the fire dust she had chosen to use, exploded in her face.

Glynda then returned her riding crop to her hand using her semblance.

"Neat trick, I'll admit. How did you do that?"

"I'm wondering if you would surrender if I told you."

"I'll only stop fighting if I could take the relic from the vault. Salem sent her minions to me, looking for the Spring maiden. I need to keep the relic hidden."

"You know I can't do that, Raven."

"As stubborn as Ozpin and my idiot brother." Raven lunged at Glynda once again.

Raven slashed at Glynda, before disappearing entirely, revealing the slash as a feint.

Raven reappeared behind Glynda, managing to land another hit and further reduce her remaining aura.

"How long will you keep this up, Glynda? Give me the relic and I will leave. I have people I wish to protect."

"So do I." Glynda was next to go on the offensive. She gripped Raven's sword again and pulled it from her grasp once more, tossing it across the office and out of easy reach.

This left her defenceless until she created an ice sword using her maiden powers.

Instead of lunging towards Glynda again, as Glynda expected, Raven instead transformed into her bird form and flew towards the door before she transformed back into a human.

"Using the ability that Ozpin gave you to run away. Quite fitting, since you ran away before." Glynda said dryly.

"Shut up!" Raven sheathed her sword and flew at Glynda. She went all out with her ice blasts, forcing the headmistress on the defensive again. She couldn't stop all of the blows she was receiving, and these would be absorbed by her aura, bit by bit.

Eventually, one heavy blow using ice managed to deplete what remained of her aura, and she went down, her aura fizzling out and making her vulnerable, meaning that any further attacks would cause lasting damage - an injury that prevented her from fighting or even death.

"This could've been avoided if you had just given me the relic, Glynda," Raven said as she looked down at Glynda, for once sounding uncharacteristically regretful. "You didn't have to die today, but you did bring this on yourself."

The two glass windows of Lionheart's office shattered at that moment, and the glass was hurled at Raven as a sphere in one last attempt to deplete her aura. It didn't work, however, as Raven's aura shimmered, but held while the glass fell to the ground around her.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this, Glynda," Raven said, seemingly not bothered by the attack she had just received from her opponent. "Goodbye,"

Slice!

Raven left the room a few moments later, pointedly not looking back at Glynda's corpse.

* * *

The group of five left Haven Academy. They made their way back into town, drawing curious looks as bystanders noticed the unconscious man who was slung over Yang's shoulder.

As they neared the safehouse, Ruby and Astrid came to meet them.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" She asked.

"Raven and Glynda are fighting at Haven Academy," Hiccup explained. "We need to help them."

"And we will, but we also need someone to keep an eye on our guests here," said Ozpin.

"I'll do it," said Yang. "I'm the strongest person here, so I should do it. Ruby should go with Hiccup, and everyone else should come with me."

Everyone agreed with that idea, and Hiccup and Ruby set off for Haven Academy again.

They arrived at the school and Ruby glanced at Hiccup. "So where is Glynda?"

"I'll show you, come on."

Hiccup then lead Ruby to Lionheart's office, where Glynda's corpse lay, lifeless with eyes staring blankly and a sliced throat surrounded by blood, on the floor.

"No…" Ruby sounded on the verge of tears.

"Ruby…" Hiccup trailed off as he stared at her. "Your eyes… they're glowing."

Ruby didn't reply and the entire room was bathed in silver light moments later. Hiccup was left blinking at the unexpected bright silver light.

When the light died down, Hiccup was greeted by the sight of Ruby sprawled out on the floor, dead to the world.

'Well, that was unexpected. I hope she'll be okay.' Hiccup's thoughts drifted back to Glynda and his hands became framed with fire. He then left the room, hoping to find Raven.

'Right, so I guess Raven will be looking for one of the relics. It's probably hidden in a vault below the school like the fall maiden was, back at Beacon. Just need to find it.'

Hiccup backtracked, heading towards the large room near the school's entrance. The room in question consisted of a statue that was surrounded by a flight of stairs. The stairs went up and behind the statue from both sides where the stairs connected.

On the left and right of the stairs, two doors led into a pair of corridors, where classrooms and dorms were situated. The corridor on the right had the headmaster's office at the very end.

Entering the room, Hiccup saw Raven look around the room before she noticed him standing by one of the doors. She held a blue and yellow object that Hiccup couldn't recognize. Raven let out a frustrated sigh when he started to approach.

"Can I bribe you to let me go with the relic?"

'So that's the relic then.' Hiccup thought as he glanced at the object she was holding. "After what you did to Glynda? Certainly not, but I have a deal for you," said Hiccup.

"What can you possibly have that I could want? And why make a deal at all? I just killed Glynda Goodwitch. Shouldn't you be angry right now? I'm honestly expecting you to fight me."

"I am angry," Hiccup held up a flaming hand for emphasis. "But I still don't think I would win in a fight against you, so it would be stupid to try. As for what I could offer you. Well, I can take some of Salem's attention away from you."

"And how would you do that?"

"Simple. If I let Salem know that Ozpin, or more specifically, I had the relic, then Salem would attempt to get it back. That would buy you time, and you and your tribe could relocate."

"You know you count as part of my tribe, right?"

"For Thor's sake, shut up about that! I'm no more a part of your tribe than Yang is. You forced me to join your tribe by threatening my girlfriend, so please stop saying that. Now, will you take my offer? You should know that I'm only offering it once, considering what you did."

Raven brought a hand to her chin in order to look thoughtful. "What will you tell Ozpin about this? He's guaranteed to ask questions."

"I'll say you saw me, dropped the relic and ran away."

Raven snorted. "That's a really believable turn of events. A huntress who killed Glynda Goodwitch - one of the strongest huntresses in Vale - got scared by a boy with only two years of training. He's bound to buy it."

"It's that or me telling him that I managed to fight off the huntress in question using only a shield and throwing knives. Which of those two scenarios do you think is likely to happen?"

"Neither. Do you take me for some scared idiot?"

"Idiot? No. Scared? Yes. _Hey, fishbone with only two years of training and a prosthetic leg. You're needed to help fight when I tell you to. Never mind the whole tribe of fighters that I have around for that specific reason._ " said Hiccup dryly.

"Point taken. You've got a deal."

* * *

Hiccup returned to the safehouse with Ruby slung over his right shoulder, and the relic from Haven Academy's vault - a blue and gold lamp - held tightly in his left hand.

"What happened?!" Yang demanded when she realised Ruby was unconscious.

"Don't really know. She saw Glynda's body, there was a flash of silver light, and the next thing I found out was the fact that Ruby had fallen asleep."

"Huh. Well, I guess that answers that."

Hiccup placed Ruby on one of the couches in the room. It was a three seater couch, with Gobber snoring away on one end. "Do you think Ozpin will know what happened to Ruby?" He asked

"I hope so. So Glynda is dead."

"Yeah. Can we not talk about it? I might break something otherwise."

"Alright-" Yang cut herself off when the door that was behind her slammed open and a terrified Lionheart burst into the room. He was followed by Ozpin, who looked uncharacteristically furious.

"You sent the huntsmen and huntresses of Mistral to their deaths." Ozpin spat.

"Ozpin… I can explain!"

"Really? Tell me, Leo, what explanation could possibly make this all okay?"

"I never said I could explain it that well. But if I had to choose between being killed myself, or people I barely know, what would you expect me to do?"

Ozpin responded by knocking him out with his cane. He then turned to Hiccup and Yang.

"Sorry about all that. You managed to get the relic I see. May I ask how?"

"Raven dropped it as she was escaping. I think she didn't want to fight anyone else."

"So Glynda is dead then." Hiccup nodded sadly and Yang appeared distraught but said nothing in reply.

"What happened to Miss Rose?" Ozpin then asked.

"There was a flash of silver light when she saw Glynda's body. She fell asleep afterwards."

"So her silver eyes have been triggered then. I'll need to explain them to her when she wakes up. Now, however, I think we need to inform Ironwood about what happened here and get ready to return to Atlas."

"I think Glynda deserves to be buried first," said Hiccup

"Yeah. Do you know where her family lives?" Yang asked Ozpin.

"They died years ago. A storm destroyed her home when she was younger. It was what made her discover her semblance."

"Right, I don't know about you two, but I don't want to think more about any more of that sort of stuff right now. I'm going to go talk to Team JNPR."

Yang proceeded to take a seat on the couch where Ruby had been placed and start a call with the aforementioned team.

"What happened to the other guy?"

"Miss Hofferson is keeping an eye on him with Toothless."

Hiccup nodded. "Should we bring Neptune and his team back to Atlas with us? There's not much reason for them to stay since Lionheart will likely be removed as headmaster."

"Perhaps. It would be up to them to decide, however."

"Okay. I'm going to go see if my weapons are ready yet."

"Understood, but leave the relic here. We don't want it to go missing or get stolen." Hiccup complied by handing it to Ozpin before he left.

Ozpin then looked down at Lionheart. "Seems I need to report you to the Mistral Council before I leave, _old friend_." he sighed. "What happened to the friend I once knew?" Ozpin wondered aloud.

* * *

Hiccup spotted Neptune, Sage and Scarlet approaching when he was leaving the forge with his weapons.

"Hello," Hiccup greeted them.

"Sup," "Hey," "Hello again," They each replied respectively.

"Are you getting your weapons?" Neptune then asked.

Hiccup nodded. "I hope they've been upgraded by now. It's weird to not have them with me for so long. Anyway, I'm curious what a team of huntsmen in training do all day here."

"Not much, besides sparring. It is so boring! I would honestly do anything to do something that isn't just sparring," Neptune said.

"We're waiting for Haven to open back up again," Scarlet added. "We decided to transfer here when Beacon was attacked. Although, finding out that Ozpin was alive is weird. Especially considering where he is right now."

"How do you handle that?" Sage asked

"It was… unexpected at first I'll admit, but it isn't the weirdest thing you could find out about."

"Then what is?" The three asked in unison.

"I can show you if you want."

"Sure beats sparring all day. Let's go," said Neptune.

* * *

Over in Atlas, a certain heiress heard a knock on her bedroom door.

"Morning Klein," Weiss greeted her family's head butler.

"Morning Miss Schnee," he replied. Klein Sieben was a pudgy, jolly man with a thick brown moustache. If he were to dye his moustache white and dress up appropriately, he would fit the look of Santa Claus rather well.

He was holding a tray with a bowl of her favourite cereal on top, along with a teapot and a cup with a saucer underneath. Weiss also noticed he had a newspaper that was rolled up and held under his right armpit.

"Your breakfast Miss Schnee." He said.

She took hold of the tray. "Thank you, Klein."

He nodded respectfully before his expression turned grave. "I hate to be the bringer of bad news, especially so early in the morning, but…" he trailed off, hesitant.

She put the tray on her bed, gently, before approaching Klein again. "What's wrong? What is the news? Please tell me, Klein,"

He opened his mouth to speak but hesitated again. Weiss snatched the newspaper away from him. She unfolded it and glanced at the headline.

"Miss Schnee…" the newspaper fell from her fingers as a lone tear moved down her cheek.

She turned away from Klein.

"I want you to leave," Weiss said after a long moment.

"Miss Schnee…" he repeated.

"Did you not hear me? Go!" She snapped, before turning around again and delivering him a firm shove. She then slammed the door shut and fell to her knees, tears now falling unhindered.

Her shoulders shook as she sobbed, her breakfast and the newspaper went forgotten, with "Eldest Schnee Sibling Dead!" printed along the top of the front page.

* * *

Hiccup returned to the safehouse with Neptune, Sage and Scarlet in tow.

Entering, Hiccup was about to lead them to see Toothless, when said dragon roared in surprise. Hiccup immediately ran to the room that Toothless was in, and stopped in his tracks at the sight that greeted him.

There was a strange creature that consisted of tentacles and a single black and red orb on top. The orb appeared to be translucent. The creature had wrapped its tentacles around Toothless' face, and the dragon was trying to get away from it.

What had stopped Hiccup in his tracks, however, was a conscious Arthur Watts, pressing a gun to Astrid's head while she struggled to get free.

"Give me the relic, or she dies, along with that creature," he demanded, as Yang, Ozpin and Neptune's team watched the scene unfold from behind Hiccup.

Hiccup glanced at Ozpin behind him before facing Arthur again.

"Uh, okay. Just wait here." Hiccup took the relic from Ozpin, his expression begging him to play along. Thankfully Ozpin handed it to him, despite looking reluctant.

Hiccup gave it to the man. "Now let her go."

Arthur stepped away from Astrid and Hiccup brought a hand close to one of his weapons. Arthur noticed and aimed at Astrid again.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"You have the relic. Why not just go?"

"Why would I give up my only leverage?"

"You wouldn't do that, but you have forgotten about one thing."

"Oh, and what's that-" In answer, Toothless gave a roar and leapt on the man, teeth bared and furious.

Hiccup scanned the room for the strange creature and saw it had been tossed aside by Toothless. It got back up and advanced on the dragon again.

Hiccup wasted no time in shooting at it. He made sure it was dead before looking at Arthur again, who was now Toothless' captive. He didn't look the slightest bit afraid, to Hiccup's surprise.

"You can get off him now bud," said Hiccup as he stepped near.

Toothless gave one further growl before getting up. He moved about a metre before staring at the man to keep watch.

Yang finally moved, taking hold of Arthur and keeping him restrained.

"Did nobody think to check him for weapons he could be carrying?" Hiccup asked, looking at Ozpin and Yang.

"An oversight on my part. Apologies," said Ozpin while Yang looked sheepish. Hiccup rolled his eyes at that.

"You should let me go. You have no idea who my boss is. You've attracted her attention, now that you've captured one of her generals and killed one of her seers." Arthur Watts said

"You mean Salem? I know enough about her. Most people here do." Arthur looked slightly surprised by the answer.

"Who is Salem?" Neptune asked

"Master of the Grimm. Long story. I'll explain in a bit. We really need to report what happened at Haven."

"Agreed. I'll get right on that," said Ozpin, not wasting a moment as he immediately left the safehouse.

* * *

A/N: It seems like I really can't resist giving the characters in this story a hard time. RIP Glynda Goodwitch. Poor Weiss etc.

Not much else to say here, so I'll see you all next time.

Ciao.

Silvolde


	28. Heart To Heart

A New World

Chapter 28: Heart To Heart

A/N: Here we are again. Getting close to the end of this arc by the way. We'll soon be moving onto the final arc of this story. (Next chapter, if all goes as planned.)

I also have two announcements to make.

At the same time as this chapter is going up, I will be posting all the past and future Omakes of this story as a separate story (it will be called 'A New World: Omakes' by the way) for two reasons.

One, they take a fair amount of time and effort to write which would be better spent on this story or future Omakes that way.

Two, they would be longer and better overall if I could spend more time on them, which is something I want to do.

The second announcement is the fact that this story will reach its one year anniversary on Sunday (July 21st 2019). This is my longest running story by far, so thanks to everyone who has stayed with it until now.

And now I'm going to respond to a guest review from the last chapter, which brings up an interesting point.

Guest Isa: Yup, Raven is evil. We both can agree on that. I will definitely have Ozpin bring up the fact that the relics attract Grimm. As for how they would react… well, it certainly won't be as dramatic as you think. I'm thinking of a way of covering that, which will hopefully be quite soon. (The next chapter or so.) Stay tuned for that.

Now that all of that is out of the way, let's get started!

* * *

Vernal walked aimlessly around camp when a red portal suddenly opened just outside Raven's tent, with Raven quickly entering it, indicating she didn't want to be seen.

"So what do we do now Raven?" Vernal asked when the spring maiden exited her tent minutes later and approached.

"We get ready to move. Arthur Watts will likely be reporting what happened at Haven, and Salem will be preparing to get the relic back."

"Who has the relic?"

"A certain tribe member persuaded me to give him the relic. I'm sure you can guess who. Be sure to tell Roman Torchwick that we're moving by the way."

Vernal nodded and Raven turned and walked away, their brief conversation over. "Alright everyone, we're moving camp so get to it!" Vernal called out.

Nobody in the tribe replied, instead responding by leaping into action. All around the camp, Tents were untethered and rolled up, supplies were packed away to be transported later, while Raven herself left in her bird form, to scout out a location for her tribe's next camp.

* * *

"May I inquire as to what happened at Haven?" Arthur Watts asked after Ozpin left.

"I can't see why that would be any of your business, but sure, go ahead," Hiccup replied.

"Raven Branwen killed Glynda Goodwitch, didn't she."

"Congratulations, you figured it out." Hiccup snarked with an eye roll.

"One of the strongest huntresses in Vale and she loses to a maiden." Arthur continued, ignoring Hiccup's remark.

"Is there something you're trying to say?"

"I'm sure you can figure it out."

Hiccup's left hand burst into flame. "If you're implying what I think you're implying, then you're on thin ice."

"Have I touched a nerve?" Arthur smirked.

"Neptune, Sage and Scarlet, you should stand back." They obliged, sensing the tension in the room.

The next moment, Hiccup had gripped Arthur by the collar with his left hand clenched into a fist, ready to strike.

"Hiccup! Stop, he's trying to make you angry." said Yang.

"I figured that out, but I don't care right now." Hiccup then punched him and let go, leaving Arthur standing there with the same irritating smirk.

"Hiccup! You need to calm down." Yang pleaded.

"Oh so I'm not allowed to get angry, is that it? You can get angry at me, but I can't get angry at myself?"

"I never said that," Yang protested.

"I'm going into town. At least I won't have to look at him." said Hiccup, now ignoring Yang. He turned and left before anything else could be said.

"Shouldn't we go after him?" asked Neptune.

"No." said Astrid, "He needs time to cool off. I can speak from personal experience on that by the way. We can go to make sure he's okay later on, just not right now."

* * *

"I'm unavailable right now, so leave a message. If this is Ozpin calling, you better not be about to ask me to do your paperwork again! If not, then please ignore what I just said."

A beep was heard and Coco sighed as the same message played for the umpteenth time since she had started calling Glynda.

"You would think she would've found Hiccup by now. What's taking them so long?" Coco groaned.

"I don't know. We can only wait, Coco." Yatsuhashi replied calmly. "Besides, neither Doctor Oobleck nor Professor Port have managed to find out what has happened since Professor Goodwitch left for Atlas."

"Maybe I should call Hiccup instead?" Coco asked aloud. "Nevermind, that can wait. Is Velvet still not talking?"

"Unfortunately that is still the case," sighed Yatsuhashi.

"I should go talk to her." She made to stand when Yatsuhashi spoke again.

"Coco-"

"If you tell me to wait again, I will shoot you. I am bored out of my mind and I need to do something or I will go insane."

"I was going to say good luck." replied her teammate

"Huh, you live to see another day, Congratulations." Coco said with a half serious tone, before she fell silent and went off in search of her partner.

* * *

The safehouse door opened and Ozpin entered, followed by five other people. Four of them were police officers, and the fifth was a tall man in a suit with a neatly trimmed beard.

Ozpin looked around the room and was greeted with a distraught Astrid and Yang upon arrival. The latter had her scroll in hand, repeatedly pressing a button before she brought the phone to her ear.

Neptune and Scarlet had Arthur Watts restrained between them, while Sage stood beside them. The man had a black eye while the trio appeared as if they intended to comfort Yang and Astrid, but had no idea how to do so.

"Miss Xiao Long, Miss Hofferson, may I ask what has happened?"

"Hiccup left not long after you. Arthur called Professor Goodwitch weak for being killed by Raven, Hiccup grabbed him by the collar, punched him and then left. I've been trying to call him ever since." said Yang.

"Right. Well, I've notified Lionheart's secretary - here Ozpin gestured to the man in the suit - about what has happened. He would become the headmaster of Haven whenever Lionheart is unavailable. He is to Lionheart what Glynda was to me."

"Cool," said Yang.

Ozpin pointed at Arthur. "That man showed up shortly before Glynda was killed. He was going to meet with Lionheart. Do you recognise him Simon?" asked Ozpin, addressing Lionheart's secretary.

Simon shook his head. "No, I've never seen him before. I think we should question him." The two police officers stepped forward.

"You should come with us." One of them said as Neptune and Scarlet handed him over.

He didn't resist, knowing it was pointless but everyone could see he wasn't happy at his situation.

The two other officers picked up Lionheart, who woke up at that particular moment.

The police officers then left with Arthur and Lionheart held between them.

"Who is this Hiccup person?" Simon asked.

"He is someone I've been training to fight for a few years," said Ozpin.

"Right." Simon nodded. "Should I go arrange Glynda's funeral?"

"Yes. Also, would it be possible to use Lionheart's office to speak to Qrow and some friends of ours tomorrow? They would likely wish to pay their respects to their former teacher."

"You know I won't stop you Ozpin. You were a headmaster, but I will admit that seeing you like this will take a lot of getting used to." Simon replied.

"Believe me, it is strange to me too. Especially with the thoughts that Oscar has about certain people." Ozpin spared a glance at Yang and Astrid. "Let's just say that hormones are the worst when you're an observer to it."

"Really," Yang drawled before Simon could reply. "You're telling me that Oscar is going through puberty? I never would have guessed that it would happen to the youngest teenager here."

"Do you want me to tell you Oscar's ever-present thoughts, Miss Xiao Long?"

"Fire away. It can't be worse than what I have thought about in the past."

Ozpin leaned close to whisper in Yang's ear, and both he and Simon watched in amusement when her expression turned from her usual grin to one of shock at what she heard.

"Have fun, Ozpin," Simon chuckled and left the safehouse.

"Should I help you two look for Hiccup?" asked Ozpin, addressing Astrid and Yang.

"Nah, he'll be fine," Yang waved him off. "I'm never going to look at Oscar the same way after that."

"If you're sure, then I will drop the matter. Now, what do we do about you three?" Ozpin stared at Neptune, Sage and Scarlet.

"Who is Salem?" They immediately asked.

"That's a long story you will find unbelievable and most likely rage-inducing. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"How unbelievable are we talking about?" asked Neptune.

"Quite. The very first person I told some of the things I am about to tell you, ended up trying to kill me." Ozpin replied, entirely serious.

The trio whispered among themselves for several moments.

"We'll listen to your story." Neptune eventually said.

"Alright." Ozpin sat down on one of the four couches in the room. "I suggest you all relax before I tell you my story."

They obliged and Ozpin began to speak.

* * *

Hiccup walked aimlessly along the street. He had turned his scroll off after hearing it ring for the first time, not wanting to listen to Yang (or anyone else for that matter) quite yet.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but he could see the sun was starting to descend.

Looking around to find his bearings, Hiccup noticed the forge at the far end of the street, which was the same one where his weapons had been upgraded at. There were several shops and housing in the vicinity. There was also a bakery nearby if the smells were anything to go by.

Hiccup set his sights on the forge as a thought came to him.

Entering the forge, Hiccup was immediately spotted by the blacksmith. "Back so soon? Your weapons were finished just this morning."

"I'm going to be working on my weapons this time. But I was wondering if you know how to weave dust into clothing. Gloves in particular."

"I do," The blacksmith nodded. "But may I ask why?"

"Personal problems, I guess." replied Hiccup.

"So you're running from your problems I take it?" he asked

Hiccup nodded and the blacksmith continued. "Not the healthiest solution. You should talk about them with someone."

Hiccup laughed, sounding bitter. "I've run from my problems before. Not sure how talking will solve my current one though."

"Let's put that to the test then, shall we? Tell me, what is your problem?"

Hiccup paused for a moment and let out a long sigh. "A friend of mine died, and her death was my fault." said Hiccup, his tone gradually filling with self loathing as he spoke.

"I'm going to need a bit more detail than that. What makes you think your friend's death is your fault?" pressed the blacksmith.

"I got someone else I know mad, my friend and this other person fought and my friend was killed afterwards." sighed Hiccup

"Hmm. Nope, not your fault." The blacksmith decided.

"How is that not my fault?! Did you not listen to what I said?"

"Did you tell this person you know to kill your friend?"

"No, but-"

"Did you want your friend dead?"

"No!" Hiccup immediately protested.

"Then how is it your fault?"

Hiccup, of course, had no reply for that, so he remained silent as the blacksmith continued.

"Seems to me it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with this person you know. Problem solved. It's that simple."

"Really?" asked Hiccup, his voice hopeful.

"Really," the blacksmith smiled kindly at him. "Now I suggest you get started on working on that weapon you wanted to upgrade huntsman, otherwise you'll be here all day."

"I'm not a huntsman yet you know, but thanks Mr…?"

"Smith, but do call me John."

"Alright, John," Hiccup took the shield from his back. Opening it, he took out all the throwing knives from within and placed them on the counter in front of him. "I would like to make a holster and gloves that use gravity dust so that I could throw these knives quicker when fighting."

"That's an idea for a weapon that I haven't seen anyone use in years. I was twenty when I last saw a scythe that used gravity dust. Forty years ago."

"Will, that be a problem then? Maybe I can find a book about it and learn how to do it by myself?"

"Do you know how to sew?"

"Yeah, I've known for a while. I made this leather suit I'm wearing."

"Well, that's good. I thought I would need to teach you how to sew, which is the hardest part. To sew dust into clothing, you only need to use thread that is infused with dust powder. Everything else is the same." Hiccup responded with a nod.

"Alright, so what did you want to make again? It was a pair of gloves with gravity dust weaved in, and a holster to carry those throwing knives of yours, right?"

"Yeah. Oh, and it would be useful if my axes had gravity dust on the blade as well."

"Then let's get started. The work won't do itself." John went behind the counter and brought a container of purple dust with him when he returned. "We'll start on your axes since they will take the longest time. Give them to me."

Hiccup handed them over, and John expertly disassembled both, separating the axe blades and gun mechanism from the handles of each axe.

He then started up a fire in the forge and placed the metal handles from each axe inside when the fire became hot enough to melt them.

"While we wait for them to melt down, I think it would be best to start on the gloves." John left the room again, returning with some sheets of leather and a pen.

He placed the leather down on the countertop. "Place your left hand here." Hiccup did so, and John traced around his hand. He placed the first sheet of leather to one side and told Hiccup to do the same with his other hand.

John then glanced at the forge. "Do you know how to infuse dust into metal?"

"Yeah, the friend I told you about, the one who died, showed me how." Hiccup answered with a sigh.

"Oh. Sorry if I brought up some sad memories."

"I'm going to get started on infusing the metal with dust." Hiccup replied, bringing their conversation to a swift halt.

Hiccup then took the gravity dust container, brushed past John and started working on his axes in silence. John let out a quiet sigh at that but continued to work on the gloves and holster.

When everything was finished, it was time for testing. Hiccup tried on the gloves and strapped the holster, complete with three of his throwing knives, to his prosthetic leg.

John then showed him to the room behind the counter, where he had set up a dartboard.

"Throw a knife at this target here, then summon your aura to your hand and flex your fingers to draw the knife to your glove," John instructed.

Hiccup did so, throwing the knife at the dartboard and flexing his fingers to draw it back to his hand.

It was pulled towards his hand much faster than Hiccup expected. It hit his palm and fell to the floor with a clatter.

"Is it usually that fast?" asked Hiccup.

"I couldn't tell you. Remember, I've only seen one other weapon use gravity dust, and never in action." John replied.

Hiccup nodded in reply, picking up the throwing knife and holstering it. "Let's test my axes work now."

Hiccup repeated the previous act. He succeeded in plucking the axe out of the air since he was more prepared for how fast it would move. It was also bigger, which helped somewhat.

"So everything works, that's good. Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Happy to help." Hiccup handed him the last of his lien before leaving with his weapons.

Once outside the forge, Hiccup noticed it was now night, with the broken moon casting silver light in a cloudless sky.

Hiccup then took out his scroll to send Yang and Astrid a text to explain where he had been.

Before sending the text, Hiccup noticed he had a missed call from an unknown number.

"Hello?" said Hiccup.

"Hey, Hiccup,"

"Coco? How did you get my scroll number?"

"I asked that police chief guy for it. Nils Anderson was his name, I think."

"And you got my number from him how?"

"Persuasion,"

"Really," said Hiccup with a sigh. "What do you want?"

"I'm wondering what's taking you and Glynda so long,"

"Well, I can tell you that we're done now. Just waiting for an airship to take us back to Vale." Hiccup lied with a grimace that went unseen by Coco.

"That's good then. Don't take too long, I'm bored out of my mind and I need something to do." Coco sounded like she was begging.

"I'll come as soon as I can," Hiccup replied. Coco hung up and Hiccup pinched the bridge of his nose.

'When did my life involve this many lies?' He thought with a groan, before proceeding to text Yang and Astrid, pocketing his scroll and heading through the dimly lit and empty streets in the direction of the safehouse.

* * *

"We really should look for Hiccup," said Astrid. "It's night outside now."

Yang opened her mouth to reply, but her and Astrid's scroll vibrated simultaneously, indicating they had received a text.

"Was at a forge to work on some things. Don't worry about me. On my way home, will be back soon." Yang read aloud.

"Well at least we know he's safe now," said Yang, sounding relieved.

* * *

Entering the safehouse, Hiccup saw Yang, Astrid, Ozpin, Neptune, Sage and Scarlet gazing at him.

"Hiccup?" Astrid and Yang said in unison.

"Hi," said Hiccup with an awkward wave, mindful of the stares. "Sorry about leaving so suddenly as I did earlier."

"It's fine Hiccup," said Yang, looking away and running her hands through her long blonde hair. "What I said earlier was unfair to you. You have nothing to apologise for."

"If you say so," Hiccup shrugged. "How did you cope with losing Summer?" Hiccup then asked abruptly.

"With great difficulty. It sucked, and I still miss her, but it doesn't bother you as much eventually. You'll survive Hiccup."

"You can also speak to me you know, even if we don't know each other very well. My dad drowned when I was young. It's why I'm afraid of water, so you're not the only person who has lost someone," said Neptune.

"I'll also help, and you know who I lost," Astrid added with a small smile that Hiccup returned.

"Who did you lose?" Sage wondered.

"My parents when I was ten. They were killed in a fire after getting trapped in our house during a dragon raid."

"You mean like the dragon you have downstairs?" Scarlet asked

"You've met Toothless huh? Was he sleeping?"

"Yup," Neptune replied. "Not much to do here besides stand or sit, so we looked around for a few minutes."

"I'm still wondering who that is," Sage replied, pointing at the couch where Gobber and Ruby lay.

"That's Gobber. blacksmith, stepfather, you get the idea," said Hiccup

Astrid suddenly yawned. "I don't know about everyone else, but I feel like heading to bed right now," she said.

Agreements sounded across the room, one by one, as people followed suit.

"I'm going to stay here for a bit. I want to talk to Hiccup first," said Yang.

"What is it?" asked Hiccup, once the room was empty besides themselves, Ruby and Gobber, who were both still unconscious.

"How are you taking this? Glynda being dead?"

"I'm doing fine… I think,"

"You don't have to lie to me you know."

"Alright, I admit I'm not fine. How do I move on from that? Glynda is dead. Raven killed her. What now? Am I meant to hate Raven? Am I meant to pretend that I'm okay with her being dead like I did when I thought Ozpin was dead?" Hiccup sighed.

"If you can answer any of those questions, then please let me know Yang. I'm going to bed now though." Hiccup turned and left the room, heading downstairs to sleep with Toothless.

'Wow. He isn't over this.' Yang thought before she glanced at the unconscious form of Gobber. 'Hiccup said he was to him what Summer Rose was to me. Maybe he can help.'

She strode over and shoved Gobber off the couch, making sure that Ruby remained asleep.

"Wha- what's going on?"

"Hiccup needs help adjusting to the fact that someone he knew is dead. You're going to help me." said Yang, "But this stays between us for now, at least until we find a solution. Agreed?"

"I agree with that lass," said Gobber, sounding half asleep as he stood up. "Let's get started then."

The pair proceeded to talk into the night.

* * *

Over in Atlas, Whitely, Weiss and Jacque were at their dining table, eating dinner in silence.

"Are you okay Weiss?" her younger brother asked. "Hearing about Winter must have been upsetting."

Weiss stared intently at him. "It was, but I'm still wondering what has made you act differently now. You never liked Winter or me."

"It would be cruel for me to hate her after what has happened recently, wouldn't you think so?"

"Is that how much she mattered to you? That only her death makes you act even slightly different?"

"Drop the matter, Weiss," Jacque said, but she knew it wasn't a request.

"I'm sorry father," Weiss said. She didn't mean a word she had said, but neither Whitley nor Jacque noticed or cared.

She quickly retreated to her room after finishing her meal, almost bumping into Klein in the hallway in her haste.

"I'm sorry Miss Schnee," the head butler quickly apologised.

"It's alright Klein. In fact, can I make a request?"

"What is it, Miss Schnee?"

"Can you help me meet General Ironwood, preferably without my father hearing about it? I wish to study at Atlas Academy. I don't want to stay here any longer. I can't stay here." She corrected herself. "Not with my sister being dead." A single tear fell to the white floor of the hallway.

Klein's face turned serious. "I will do what I can, Miss Schnee." He promised.

Weiss gave a single grateful nod. "Thank you, Klein."

"You're welcome Miss Schnee." He then turned and left and Weiss entered her room.

* * *

"So how is everyone doing?" asked Hiccup.

It was now the morning of the following day, and everyone besides Ruby was in Lionheart's office at Haven Academy. Simon had brought along a desk and a desk scroll so they could talk to Team JNPR, Qrow, Ironwood and everyone who was at Beacon. Everyone on Hiccup's end had crowded around it, to be seen.

Astrid was on Hiccup's right, and Yang on his left, with team SSSN and Ozpin behind him.

On team JNPR's end, the team was present with Qrow and Ironwood standing next to Ren and Pyrrha respectively. Nora and Jaune were in the middle of the group.

On team CFVY's end, Peter Port and Bartholomew Oobleck were standing next to Yatsuhashi and Fox, with Velvet and Coco in the middle of their group. Violet Peach, Cardin Winchester and Nils Anderson stood in the background.

"Nothing much over here. The White Fang attacked us with Adam leading them a while ago, but nothing has happened since then." said Coco.

"Was anyone hurt?" asked Hiccup, his tone conveying a hint of worry.

"Velvet had joined the White Fang to spy on Adam. She was discovered and beaten up, but she's fine now. Quieter than usual though."

"Well, that's something… Anyway-"

"Wait, where's Glynda?" asked Coco.

"I'm wondering about that too," said Jaune with Pyrrha, Nora and Ren nodding in agreement beside him.

'Here we go,' Hiccup thought with a sigh. "There's not an easy way to say this guys," He began before glancing at Yang who nodded in encouragement. "Glynda Goodwitch was killed yesterday, by Raven Branwen."

As expected, everyone looked either shocked or furious at the announcement.

"Yang's mum?" asked Jaune. "She killed Professor Goodwitch?"

"Yes," Hiccup confirmed. "She… sliced her neck."

"Where is she?" growled Qrow. "I'd like to speak with her."

"I don't know Qrow, but we can look for her and let you know," said Yang.

"Sure thing." Qrow then moved out of sight and the sound of a door opening and closing could be heard.

"What are we supposed to do now?" asked Jaune. "First the White Fang, now this? Is there even a point."

"Yes, there is. If anyone can stay calm-"

"Why should we do that?" Cardin sneered as he stood in the background. "Why should we listen to you? Everyone here has sacrificed something or someone. What about you? What have you sacrificed."

"How about fifteen years in a village where I was the least respected person who lived there? How about being named a mistake from birth? How about my cousin bullying me as soon as he learned how. How about my father calling me the worst Viking who ever lived? What about that Cardin?"

Cardin looked away, seemingly ashamed of himself.

Hiccup continued. "None of you needs to like me, and that's fine. I'm used to it by now. But I want you to listen to me because I was awake last night and I have a plan to get Raven to help us and defeat Salem."

"Who is Salem, and what would stop Raven from killing you?" asked Coco.

"Salem is the master of the Grimm and she is determined to destroy Remnant. As for your second question, well let's just say that Yang and I have a way to make that not happen and leave it at that." said Hiccup.

"Did I hear you right? Did you say that we're going up against the leader of the Grimm?" asked Coco. "I don't believe you, and more than that, I'm leaving."

"Coco-"

"Shut up Yatsuhashi. I joined Beacon to become a huntress. Not for the school to be attacked before graduation, one of the teachers to be killed after travelling halfway across Remnant, and to be told that the Grimm has a leader. As the team leader, we're not going to fight anymore. That's an order."

"Then I guess I will ignore it," Yatsuhashi replied. "I'm going to continue to fight,"

"Me too," Fox added.

"Why? Why would you put yourself at risk like that?" asked Coco, her voice trembling mid-sentence.

"If younger and less skilled fighters are staying in this fight, then how can I leave?" asked Yatsuhashi. "Goodbye Coco," he added before moving out of view, followed closely by Fox.

Coco and Velvet stared after them before they left as well.

"Well, I think the topic of Salem and Raven is clearly disliked, so I'll move on. We're going to be having Glynda's funeral in two weeks."

"You get to decide that?" asked Ren.

"Oh, no. Not me. A man called Simon, who is Professor Lionheart's secretary, is in charge of that. I'm just letting you all know." Ren nodded in acceptance.

"Peter and I will prepare to travel for that then," Oobleck said.

"Alright then," said Hiccup.

Oobleck then disconnected the feed on his end, with only team JNPR and General Ironwood remaining.

"Oh! Has anyone been able to speak to Weiss? I think she should get to come to the funeral." said Yang.

"I received a call this morning from a man called Klein Sieben, the head butler at the Schnee Manor. Weiss Schnee wishes to speak with me. I'll tell her when a meeting is able to be arranged."

"That's great, Ironwood. Thanks."

"You're welcome Miss Xiao Long. Is there anything else you need to tell us?"

"Well, there is the fact that Raven wanted the relic from Haven's Vault, which she dropped when she escaped and was the reason she killed Glynda in the first place. There is also the fact that there are fewer huntsmen around. I haven't seen any besides most of team SSSN here. Also, I think we should invite Blake to Glynda's funeral."

"I think so too," said Jaune, with the rest of his team nodding along.

"We've talked about this, Hiccup." Growled Yang.

"What is she talking about?" asked Ren.

"We had a disagreement about Blake. I think they should become friends again. Yang disagrees," explained Hiccup.

"Anyway I'm not saying you have to talk to her, or become friends, just let her come to the funeral. That's all Yang." He added.

"Fine. She can come." Huffed Yang, still not happy with the idea but willing to let it happen.

"Thank you," replied Hiccup

"Can we move onto something less morbid now, please?" said Nora.

Hiccup leaned over to Astrid. "Should we tell them?" He whispered.

"Not yet." She whispered back.

"I've run out of news entirely, so I guess we'll end this message here."

"Sounds good." Jaune disconnected on his end.

"So care to tell us what the big plan is?" asked Yang.

"Quite simply, we ask Raven to move each of the relics to Midgard."

"Midgard?" asked Neptune.

"It's the name of my world, I guess you could say," replied Hiccup.

"What if she refuses?" asked Yang.

"Then we move the relics to Atlas, the long way round. It's the next best option. They have the biggest military in Remnant after all."

"So when do we start?"

"Right now," came Hiccup's reply.

* * *

Hiccup and Toothless landed right in front of Yang, who was standing right outside the safehouse.

"Found Raven. Her tribe is making camp in a town called Kuroyuri. It's an hour flight from here. Raven was occupied with a Grimm when I checked. Ready to go meet her?" He asked.

"Yeah, let's go." Yang climbed on, sitting behind Hiccup on Toothless back and they were launched into the air from a single flap of his large wings.

Meanwhile, in a corner of Remnant that was almost uninhabited by people, an airship took off, heading for Mistral.

"Seems like dear Arthur has failed the goddess." A voice said before giggling in a manner that would make anyone uncomfortable when they heard it, and consider the person who giggled as insane. "It wouldn't do to fail her again." the voice added before going entirely silent.

* * *

A/N: Who could this person be? I already know, but anyone who knows the show well, please don't spoil it for everyone else!

Until Next Time

Silvolde


	29. Portal Courier

A New World

Chapter 29: Portal Courier

A/N: I've been writing this into the early hours of the morning a few times recently to get it ready this week. I hope you all enjoy it and my work has paid off. I'm going to reveal some of team CFVY's backstory during this chapter, according to an official book from Rooster Teeth called "After The Fall", as well as setting Hiccup's plan into motion.

Now that that is out of the way, allow me to welcome you, ladies and gentlemen, to the first chapter of the final arc of this story.

There were quite a few things to write, so this chapter will be quite long. Prepare for a long read today. Hold onto your hats everyone!

Moving on. I'm wondering how long and detailed your review will be for this chapter CajunBear73. I'm also wondering if you or anyone else will predict what will happen in the next few chapters on Salem's end, as a result of what has been happening in Mistral lately. It will be an interesting read nevertheless, but I guess I'll find out soon.

From how it seems in my mind, it will be over a bit quickly, with most of it being all about tying up plot threads.

The arc will end with Hiccup's plan either succeeding or failing, the aftermath of either event, followed up with me tying up the remaining plot threads in the last few chapters and the epilogue.

So maybe five chapters left to go? I don't know. I haven't counted them to see how many are left yet. We'll find out soon enough though.

Long note finally over, let's begin the chapter!

* * *

Toothless landed at the edge of Raven's camp and Hiccup and Yang disembarked. The tents were set up in a circle, with the biggest tent - Raven's - in the centre of the circle.

The three moved behind to the nearest tent they could reach, as footsteps could be heard approaching and a guard walked over to where they had been moments ago.

"Thought I saw something just now," The guard muttered to himself.

Hiccup wasted no time in moving behind him and hitting him over the head with his shield.

He caught the guard's unconscious form as he slumped and dragged him into the tent they had hidden behind, after a glance inside revealed it to be empty.

Hiccup then set off, moving past Yang and Toothless and heading for the tallest tent in the camp, which had been set up close to where the trio has landed, while keeping close to the other tents as he moved, to have an option to hide.

"What are you doing?!" demanded Yang, whispering so she wouldn't be overheard by any other guards. "You'll be noticed!"

"I'll be fine. I can hide if I need to," said Hiccup, not worried in the slightest. "Go and wait in Raven's tent over there," said Hiccup, pointing at a large tent in the centre of camp. "I'll be back soon."

"Hiccup!" said Yang.

Hiccup ignored Yang's whispered protest as he walked out of earshot, giving her no choice but to comply with his instruction.

Unless of course she wanted to follow him and risk having them both be noticed or heard by the guards around the camp.

Hiccup arrived at the aforementioned tent and glanced inside, coming face to face with a blue and yellow scaled Deadly Nadder in a cage.

It quickly noticed he had weapons and snapped at him as best as it could from within its cage.

It couldn't reach him, but he recoiled in surprise as a result of the action. The Deadly Nadder brought its tail up, preparing to launch one of its tail spines at him.

Hiccup brought his hands up in a placating manner, making the dragon pause.

"I won't hurt you," he promised the dragon, slowly moving his hands to remove his weapons and calm the dragon down.

Once his axes and throwing knives were on the ground, the dragon's tail spines retracted back into place as it relaxed.

It let out a questioning squawk at him as if wondering why he hadn't attacked yet.

"I'm going to help you escape, but you need to be as quiet as possible, okay?" the dragon bobbed its head at him before taking a single step back.

"I'm going to need to use one of my axes to open the cage though. Is that okay?" In response, the dragon let loose a beam of fire at the door of the cage, reducing it to a puddle of molten metal.

Hiccup blinked a few times to clear his vision before looking down at what remained of the door of the cage.

"Well that works, I guess. Watch your step. Wouldn't want you to get cut by stepping on an axe or knife now would we?" Hiccup grinned and left the tent with the Deadly Nadder letting out another squawk and following after him.

Once outside, Hiccup looked up at the dragon behind him. "Alright, I'm going to take you to those woods over there," said Hiccup as he pointed to where Toothless had landed, close to the tent that the Night Fury was no doubt hiding behind.

"Hey, what are you doing with that dragon?!" a nearby voice shouted.

Hiccup spun around to see one of the members of Raven's tribe standing in front of him with a basket in his arms, while those of the tribe who weren't busy were also watching the scene.

"Just moving it outside for a moment. It escaped by burning the door of her cage. You'll need to get a new cage while I put this one to sleep," said Hiccup.

"Who are you?" The man demanded, taking a step forward while trying to sound threatening.

Hiccup rolled his eyes at that. His father could easily intimidate him better. "I'm a huntsman in training and a member of Raven's tribe,"

"You expect me to believe that?"

Hiccup ignored the man for the moment, reaching up and scratching the underside of the Deadly Nader's jaw, causing it to collapse into a blissful heap that was completely relaxed and sprawled out on the grass.

"If you don't then feel free to check with Raven," replied Hiccup.

The man gaped as he wordlessly looked between Hiccup and the dragon that towered over him from behind.

"Never mind. I think you've got this under control." The man shoved the basket into Hiccup's arms and retreated. Hiccup scanned the rest of the camp as everyone else gradually lost interest in the dragon and focused on something else entirely.

Looking inside the basket, Hiccup discovered it was filled to the brim with fish. "Are you hungry?" asked Hiccup. The dragon responded with a delighted squawk.

The dragon leapt forward, knocking Hiccup aside as it picked up the basket, stepped to the side and eagerly tucked into its meal, ignoring Hiccup entirely as it did so.

Hiccup got up and chuckled as he observed the dragon that was hunched over the basket and plucking fish out of it, one by one as it ate. "You must have been quite hungry. Wait… your colours look familiar… You're the Deadly Nadder from Berk, aren't you?"

He, of course, received no reply, as the dragon was still eating.

Once the dragon had finished, Hiccup lead it to Raven's tent. "Can you stand guard here? I need to talk to someone before we can go." The dragon bobbed its head at him again before it started to preen itself, not paying Hiccup any more attention as it did so.

Hiccup opted to enter Raven's tent. He went inside to see Yang sprawled out on Raven's bed. "Enjoying yourself?"

"Of course, I got bored waiting for you to show up. What were you doing anyway?" asked Yang

"I found a dragon in one of the tents here. I think it is female, and it is a dragon I haven't seen in years if it is the same one."

"A dragon you know other than Toothless? I want to see this," Yang got up and went outside.

"Rather colourful, and likes to preen. Seems quite bird-like. Not quite what I was expecting." admitted Yang.

"And what were you expecting exactly?" asked an amused Hiccup.

"Something more like a lizard and less like a giant bird. It's honestly a bit lame. Does it breathe fire?"

"Yup, it also can shoot the spines on its tail like darts. It's known to be quite accurate with them."

"How accurate?" asked Yang as she became more interested.

"At least as accurate as you. During dragon training back on Berk, it nearly hit someone I knew in the chest from about five meters away. He would have been killed if he didn't have a shield with him." replied Hiccup.

"Does it have a name? I know Toothless is a Night Fury. What about this one?"

"Oh, it's called a Deadly Nadder. Quite a fitting name for the dragon I think."

"Cool," answered Yang. "Now we wait for Raven to show up I guess. Come on."

"I think I'm going to stay out here actually. Just to make sure the dragon doesn't wander off or nobody tries to put her into a cage again."

"Alright," Yang shrugged and entered the tent again while Hiccup stood outside.

Raven and Vernal returned to camp a few minutes later, both immediately heading for Raven's tent, where they noticed that the dragon was out of its cage and standing in front of the tent, while Hiccup stood next to it.

"What is going on here? Why is the dragon out of its cage?" demanded Raven.

"I have a plan on how to defeat Salem. When you hear it, I'm sure you will be willing to let a single dragon go," said Hiccup.

"Really? That's an impossible task and I'm not easy to convince. What makes you so certain you can pull it off?" asked Raven.

"I'll tell you inside. Let the dragon stay there though," said Hiccup before he wordlessly turned and entered the tent.

"What do you think Vernal? Do you think he has a good plan?"

"It's anyone's guess, but I think we'll find out soon,"

"So what is this great plan of yours?" asked Raven upon entering her tent with Vernal.

"You help us collect the relics and move them to Midgard - my world - with your semblance," said Hiccup.

"Impressive," said Vernal. Raven remained silent but didn't disagree.

"You decided to tell her that right away?" asked Yang, lounging on Raven's bed again.

"Yes. I don't want to be here any longer than necessary, so why should I beat around the bush?" asked Hiccup.

"One flaw with this otherwise admittedly great plan. What will you do if Salem finds out and tries to kill me? If she succeeds then your plan is ruined."

"Do I need to tell you what to do? You, who can travel to other dimensions as well as wherever Qrow, Taiyang or Yang are at a moments notice and have brought people and dragons from Midgard to Remnant with you?"

"Good, you have been paying attention to me. I will help out. I'm assuming you want the relic you already have, moved today?"

"Yeah. I will have to get it first though."

"Alright. You have an hour before I come to move the relic. And yes, you can take the dragon. Not much use for it at this point and it eats quite a lot of fish." said Raven.

"Good. I would have taken the dragon from you anyway," said Hiccup.

Raven rolled her eyes at that and left the tent. "Time for you two to go," she called out.

Hiccup and Yang followed outside, to where a red portal was already waiting for them.

"Remember, you have an hour before I come to move the relic for you," said Raven.

"That's fine with me." Hiccup whistled for Toothless, climbing onto the saddle on his back when he arrived.

Yang climbed on behind him and they walked into the portal, with the Deadly Nadder squawking in delight and following after them.

* * *

Sometime later, back at the safehouse, Ruby awoke from her long nap on one of the couches in the room to a raging headache.

She blinked with bleary eyes as she sat up and scanned the room.

Oscar was sitting on the couch opposite hers with a package next to him with a note attached. A figure, Yang - Ruby blinked a few more times before realizing the figure was Astrid.

She was sitting on the couch that was furthest from the door, pushed against the back wall.

Both Oscar/Ozpin and Astrid were using their scrolls. Hiccup, Yang and Gobber were nowhere to be seen.

She let out a yawn as she stretched, drawing Ozpin's attention.

"Finally awake I see. How are you feeling Miss Rose?" asked Ozpin.

"Exhausted and I've got a bad headache," Ruby mumbled.

"Understandable. Everything seems to be fine for you then," replied Ozpin.

Ruby didn't know what he meant but had a question she wanted to ask first. "Where are Hiccup and Yang and the man who was sleeping on the couch yesterday?"

"His name is Gobber, miss Rose. He is cooking just now. He offered to do it instead of me and I watched briefly before sitting here. Neptune and his teammates - who were here earlier - have decided to go and make a call to their team leader at the local CCT tower. They left a few minutes ago. As for Hiccup and Yang, Hiccup left a note for you to read," replied Ozpin.

Ruby stood up and took the note from Ozpin when he handed it to her. 'If you're reading this, then I'll be the first to welcome you back to the land of the living. I'm on an errand with Yang by the way. Oh, and for helping me with Yang when I called Blake, there are some chocolate chip cookies in the package. I hope you enjoy them. Be back soon. Hiccup,' The note read.

Ruby put down the note and tore open the package, proceeding to eat the cookies within before the package contained only cookie crumbs.

"You still quite like chocolate chip cookies it seems. You haven't changed much from when we first met miss Rose," chuckled Ozpin.

"Can someone explain why I have a headache? I don't remember hitting my head on anything."

"Do you remember the first thing I told you when we met and you wanted to join my school, miss Rose?"

"Um, you said I had silver eyes…"

"Exactly. Now, what is the last thing you remember?"

"I remember going to Haven with Hiccup. We went into a room, and I saw… professor Goodwitch! Is she okay?"

Ozpin's tone darkened. "She was killed, by one of the students from her very first class at Beacon no less. There's some cruel irony there, I think."

"P-professor?"

"Sorry, got a little sidetracked for the moment. Glynda is dead. I believe seeing her body triggered your silver eyes."

"What are they?" Ruby was getting slightly impatient now.

"They are an ability that is quite rare. It is said that anyone who has it can strike a Grimm creature down with a single look. Summer Rose happened to possess the same trait."

"Mum?"

"Yes. Your mother was quite skilled at it as well."

There was a sudden loud thud outside the safehouse, causing the startled Ruby to drop the package she had been holding while Ozpin and Astrid both sprang to their feet.

"What was that?" asked Ruby.

"I'm going to find out. I'll tell you more about your silver eyes later," Ozpin proceeded to go to look. He opened the door and glanced outside.

"No threat out there it seems. Hiccup and Yang are back, Ruby," announced Ozpin.

"Sorry about the noise. Our newest guest landed quite heavily," said Yang.

"Where did you go?" asked Ruby.

"To speak with Raven. We've got a plan to beat Salem, and she is an important part of it," Ruby responded with a nod.

"Moving on, what dragon did you say you had again, Astrid?"

"A Deadly Nadder. I called her Stormfly. Why?"

"You'll see. What colour of scales does she have?"

"Blue and yellow,"

"Stormfly is waiting for you outside then, Milady,"

"Really?" She looked outside. "Stormfly! Hey girl!" she went outside and Stormfly gave a welcoming squawk before proceeding to ruffle her hair.

"My work here is done," chuckled Hiccup as he witnessed the scene.

"Does anyone know what Mistral's evacuation procedures would be? You know, in a Grimm attack?" asked Yang as she glanced at Ozpin, who shook his head.

"Speaking of Grimm, this would be a good time to mention that the relics attract them," said Ozpin.

"You're kidding right?" deadpanned Hiccup.

"Unfortunately not," replied Ozpin.

"Well Grimm won't be able to reach the relics, so it shouldn't matter too much, right?"

"I suppose. So what is the next part of your plan?"

"We collect the other relics and give them to Raven to move them to Midgard. Gobber and Astrid can help find a place to put them since they've been there more recently than I,"

"I'm going with them. I don't trust Raven," stated Yang.

"What about Taiyang or Qrow? Neither of them knows about my plan, and I don't want to have to explain that you've gone to a different world. If anything, I should go with them,"

"…That's a good point. Fine, I'll stay here," said Yang.

"What relic should we get next? What is the easiest to get?" asked Hiccup.

"Well Vale is closer to Atlas than Mistral, so I think Atlas should be the next choice," commented Ozpin.

"Fine with me. Not having to go back to the coldest place besides Berk later would be nice."

"We'll set off for Atlas after Raven has the relic then," said Ozpin.

At that point, Gobber entered the room. "Finished cooking for you all,"

Everyone followed him to the kitchen to eat, including Astrid, who came back inside after hearing the announcement from Gobber.

* * *

Over in Atlas, Weiss knocked on the door to Ironwood's office.

"Miss Schnee. It's a pleasure to see you again."

"Let's skip the pleasantries," spat Weiss. "My sister died while working for you,"

"I am sorry for what happened, but your sister knew the risks of her role as both a huntress and a soldier. She would have gone out on her terms."

"How would you know that?" hissed Weiss. "You don't know my sister. I doubt you ever did. This was a mistake. I never should have come here." She stood up to leave.

"Miss Schnee, sit down," his voice radiated authority, and she reluctantly complied.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I never knew your sister. But I certainly know loss," Ironwood pulled off the glove that covered his right hand.

Weiss was confused by the action until she looked at his hand. She expected skin but saw metal instead.

"You have… a prosthetic?" asked Weiss, surprise in her voice.

He chuckled. "That's an understatement. Half of my body happens to be metal. I guess you could say I'm a cyborg,"

"You can't be. You seem… normal. No offence, sir."

"None taken. I can't? What do you think this is for?" Ironwood tapped the metal stripe that was just above his right eyebrow.

"I don't know,"

"It's used to control the cybernetics in my body," explained Ironwood.

"Why are you telling me all of this? What does this have to do with my sister being dead?"

"As much as I'm grateful that I can still walk with these cybernetics, it is not the same as having natural limbs. I would do anything to have them back and feel warmth in them. Believe me, you don't know what it's like to feel warm. It's the reason I always wear a glove." said Ironwood.

"My point is this: you will always want your sister back, but you'll eventually learn to live with her gone. It will be hard and will take a lot of getting used to, but you'll manage eventually. I'll be seeing you when classes start back up here."

"Really? Just like that?"

"Just like that," confirmed Ironwood.

"But I shouted at you. Why would you let me join Atlas Academy?" asked Weiss.

"You're grieving right now. It would be rather hypocritical of me to turn you away. Not after what I've personally been through." said Ironwood.

"Thank you, sir,"

"You're welcome miss Schnee. Oh, and one more thing. Not that many people outside of the Atlas Military know about my cybernetics, and even fewer who are your age, so please don't tell anyone. I'd like this to stay between us,"

"Of course sir. I'll go now," replied Weiss.

The headmaster and general nodded, forcing a smile until she left his office. His smile disappeared as soon as he was alone.

"Maybe Qrow always had the right idea. I think I need a drink right now, after all of the memories that Weiss brought up. Especially with Glynda gone," His mind made up, Ironwood left his office.

* * *

At the White Fang base, Adam's scroll rang.

"Taurus," said a deep voice.

"Hazel," said Adam, recognising the man's voice. "What is it?"

"We have a new task for you. We want you to travel to Mistral and take control of the White Fang."

"What about Winter Schnee, and Sienna Khan?"

"Sienna Khan must stay alive, but you may kill Winter Schnee. We have no further use for her, now that she is presumed dead throughout Atlas."

"As you wish," replied Adam as Hazel hung up.

Adam entered the room where Winter had been kept in for all this time without his mask on.

She turned to face him but remained silent as she froze, taking in the SDC brand that covered his left eye in shock.

"I've been permitted to kill you. Let's get it over with," said Adam.

"I don't expect it to mean anything to you now, but I didn't think I could hate my father and his company's actions any further than I already did. I stand corrected," said Winter.

"It means little to me, even if you do hate Jacque Schnee as much as you claim. You could just be telling me this in an attempt for me to be sympathetic to you," said Adam.

"The idea did cross my mind, but you're not the sort of person to be sympathetic. I can't expect that from you, not after that," Winter nodded at his brand.

"Kill my father if you must, but please don't go after my brother and sister. They have nothing to with what he has done to the Faunus under his employ. Besides relation by law of course."

The last sentence made him pause. "By law?" asked Adam, sounding surprised.

"Yes. He married my mother to become the CEO of the SDC. He isn't a Schnee at all. You might as well know that now considering my current situation," said Winter.

Adam drew his sword. "I never knew about that,"

"Not many people do. I wouldn't usually tell anyone, but there is no point in keeping secrets now,"

"I'll consider carrying out your last wish," replied Adam, stepping closer.

"It's all I ask since I'm not getting out of here alive."

"When I captured you, I never expected you to give up so easily. You now seem… at ease with me killing you. Why?" asked Adam.

Winter let out a quiet laugh. "My weapon is gone, my men are all gone, there is a whole base full of Faunus between me and the surface and Atlas thinks I'm dead." pointed out Winter.

"I know I'm not getting out of here, and even if I could, there are miles of snow between me and Atlas Academy. You could easily kill me before I got anywhere near, so why try?" asked Winter.

"Is this what the Schnee family name is all about? A family filled with people who give up after the first sign of trouble?" asked Adam.

Winter laughed again, this time louder. "First sign? Our family has been broken for years. My mother - Willow Schnee - is an alcoholic, my father - who you know well - is a cruel man that only cares about the SDC and my brother - Whitley Schnee - is a young fool who despises me and my sister Weiss and wants to follow in Jacque Schnee's footsteps. I have endured all of that for years." she shook her head before continuing.

"I will admit that I went to Atlas Academy and later the military to escape all that, but that doesn't make my family weak. Some would say that you would be the weaker one here,"

Quite suddenly flying into a rage, Adam plunged his sword into her chest with no resistance, as Winter didn't bring up her aura in time, completely unprepared for the swift attack.

"Nobody gets to call me weak. Least of all you. I won't consider your wish after all. I will find them and kill them, before letting them know that you brought this on them." growled Adam.

"N-no…" Winter struggled to speak, gasping for breath as her uniform quickly became red. "P-please don't."

He ignored her, wiping his sword clean on one of the sleeves of her uniform that had remained bloodless until that point. Adam then sheathed his sword and turned away from her.

He left the room, leaving Winter to bleed out and went off in search of Ilia Amitola.

"I want you to go to menagerie to look for Blake, Ilia. I have to go to Mistral to see Sienna," said Adam when he eventually found her.

"Did she say why?" asked Ilia.

"No, but I can guess what the reason could be,"

"Okay, I guess I'll go get ready to leave then," She started walking away.

"If you see Max, let him know Winter Schnee is truly dead. I'm sure he'd be glad about that. Where is he anyway?"

"He's at the armoury polishing his weapon. He only ever polishes that chainsaw of his," replied Ilia.

"Nevermind, I'll go then. I need to speak to him about something else anyway,"

"Alright. See you later,"

Adam gave a curt nod, heading off in the direction of the armoury.

"Adam," Max greeted without turning around from his chainsaw he was currently polishing and the table it was placed on. "What can I do for you?"

"I bring good news. Winter Schnee is now truly dead," announced Adam.

"That is good news. I'll be letting everyone else know."

"I've been asked to meet with Sienna Khan in Mistral. Also, I heard there will be an event at the Schnee manor in a week. It would be rude of the White Fang if we didn't attend, wouldn't it?"

Max grinned at Adam, now facing him. "It certainly would. Anything else?"

"Nothing right now, unfortunately. I should go." Max nodded and returned to polishing his chainsaw as the door to the armoury opened and closed behind him.

* * *

"Why did you say that to Hiccup and everyone else?" Velvet asked Coco.

"Say what?"

"You know exactly what, Coco. Don't act like you don't know."

"I said it because Glynda was killed and Hiccup did nothing to prevent it."

"What could he have done? We both know he has only had two years of training. We have trained for far longer and we're not at Glynda's level. You seriously expect him to beat someone stronger than Glynda, all by himself?"

"That changes nothing, he-"

Slap!

Coco brought a hand up to her now stinging cheek.

"He had friends, so he could win against someone stronger than Glynda? Is that what you were going to say? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard from you!"

Velvet let out a long sigh to calm down. "I never thought you would become a coward. Not after going into Mountain Glen on your own to save that family despite your claustrophobia."

Another sigh. "If this is what you've become, then I can't stay on this team anymore. Where has my best friend gone?" With that, Velvet stormed out of the room.

"I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it. I'm-oh for Pete's sake!" Coco stood up with a groan. "Velvet wait!" she called out, running out of the room after the Rabbit Faunus.

"What?!" demanded Velvet.

"I wanted to apologise for saying that, I shouldn't have. I'll try to be a better team leader if you'll let me?"

Velvet feigned thinking about it for a moment. "Alright, but apologise to Yatsuhashi and Fox and everyone else when we get to Mistral as well and I promise not to leave team CFVY,"

"Thank you," replied Coco, sounding grateful. Velvet nodded and they both returned to the cafeteria where everyone else currently was.

"I would like to apologise to Yatsuhashi and Fox. I recently said some things that I regret now. Can you two forgive me?"

"Of course Coco. You're our team leader and our friend. Isn't that what friends do?" said Yatsuhashi. Fox nodded along in agreement with him.

"Thanks, guys," replied Coco.

"So now what Coco? Do we stay here?" asked Yatsuhashi.

"I'm sure you already know the answer. We're going to Mistral to help Hiccup and the others. Not much point in staying here, since the White Fang seem to have vanished." said Coco.

"I agree. Let Peter and I go to find a few bullheads right away. No sense in wasting more time here," said Doctor Oobleck.

"Agreed, let's go," said Professor Port. The two of them then walked away, heading for the nearest door outside.

"So how did you make Coco apologise so easily? She doesn't usually do that," commented Yatsuhashi as team CFVY and Professor Port were now standing in one of the two bullheads on their way to Mistral.

Doctor Oobleck, Cardin Winchester, Violet peach and Nils Anderson, along with the boy that could travel using portals, similar to how Raven's semblance worked. There were in a bullhead that was flying beside team CFVY's.

They would be heading south-west to the island of Patch to drop off some passengers - Nils Anderson and the boy, who was the youngest passenger among them.

They had both decided to relocate there since everyone besides them had already fled Vale on fear of the Grimm attacking again.

Patch happened to still have many citizens, since no Grimm had attacked it on a level that was even close to what Vale had received on that night months prior.

The rest of them would then continue on their journey after refuelling in patch, heading east until they reached Mistral.

Velvet glanced at Fox and Coco before leaning close to whisper in Yatsuhashi's ear. "Feigning anger. It seems I'm good at it," Velvet revealed in a conspiratorial manner, grinning. Yatsuhashi smiled and nodded, before deciding to stare out of the open door at the view below as they flew past.

* * *

Raven stepped out of her portal, finding herself outside the safehouse. She looked at Hiccup, Astrid, Gobber and Yang, with the latter holding the relic and the two dragons who were standing patiently nearby.

"You don't all need to go, you know. The fat one with the wooden leg and hook would be enough. He could simply dig a hole in the ground for the relics. It wouldn't take that long," pointed out Raven.

"I'm going with them to make sure you don't try anything to them," snarled Hiccup

"This plan of yours will help protect my tribe from Salem. I care about my tribe more than anything else in Remnant. I won't do anything to ruin it since it benefits them," snapped Raven.

Hiccup ignored her for the moment, turning to Astrid, Yang and Gobber. "What do you think? Should Gobber go alone?"

"Yeah, I think she's telling the truth for once. I still think she might try something, but I am wondering why she hasn't done it already," answered Yang.

"What about you two?" asked Hiccup, addressing Astrid and Gobber.

"It's okay with me if Gobber goes alone, but you and Yang seem to know Raven better than we do Hiccup, so it's up to you to decide I guess," replied Astrid.

"It's fine with me as well, lad," said Gobber.

"Alright. I just hope you can find somewhere to hide the relics well," said Hiccup.

"I've run out of patience. Give me the relic. I'll go myself," said Raven, approaching Yang.

"Fine, but I'm making sure you actually put it there,"

"Okay then. Give it here," Yang complied and Raven walked through her portal, followed by Yang doing the same after she returned.

"It's done. Raven buried the relic. It's buried on an island with a cliff and a few wooden buildings on top," said Yang.

"That's the island where we kept our dragons," said Gobber.

"That's definitely Midgard then," commented Hiccup.

"My work here is done then," Raven took out a piece of paper with a number written on it. "This is my scroll number. Call me when you have another relic to move," she handed it to Hiccup.

"Oh, and before I forget, Vernal?" Raven stepped to the side as Hiccup's shield, axes and throwing knives dropped through her portal.

Raven pushed the pile of weapons closer to Hiccup with her foot. "You left those in one of the tents belonging to my tribe. I also found an unconscious man in one of the tents at the edge of camp. Don't do that again," said Raven before she finally left.

Hiccup pocketed the piece of paper and put his various weapons away. "You have a whole island to yourselves? I might go to visit when we're done here. Next stop is Atlas though," said Hiccup.

"What do we tell Neptune and his team?"

"We invite them to come with us. In fact, let's go find them," said Hiccup. Yang nodded and they broke into a run as they headed towards the town together.

"Hey! What do we tell Ozpin?" Astrid called out to the pair.

Hiccup turned around, still running while facing the opposite direction from Yang.

"Tell him we'll be back soon and he should help get everyone ready to go back to Atlas!" replied Hiccup, with his voice, raised to a shout as they got further and away.

Hiccup's scroll started ringing as they ran. It was Qrow.

"Qrow?"

"Hiccup. How is Ruby doing?" asked Qrow.

"Well, she's awake now."

"That's good news. I'll be in Mistral soon," said Qrow before he hung up. A crow flew by overhead, heading in the direction of the safehouse behind them, but neither Hiccup nor Yang paid it any attention.

"Qrow's nearby," said Hiccup, responding to Yang's questioning look. "He wants to check up on Ruby."

"Ah. Let's keep going then. I want to find Neptune and his teammates quickly and continue with your plan,"

"Agreed," said Hiccup before both sped up from running to a full sprint.

* * *

"So where do you think they could be?" asked Hiccup when they slowed down to walking pace while slowly traversing the city of Mistral.

"I have a few ideas. I'll look for him in any bars I can find, you look for any libraries in town."

"Got it," said Hiccup and they split up, each going in different directions.

Hiccup headed for the forge where his weapons were upgraded.

"Back again? This is the third time in two days. You came here twice yesterday," said John.

"I'm not upgrading or making new weapons this time. I'm looking for the nearest library."

"Ah, a huntsman with an eye for knowledge. You remind me of my nephew, Neptune," said John.

"Funny thing there. I'm looking for him. I want to talk to him and his teammates,"

"I would be happy to help. Let me take you to them,"

John lead Hiccup to a small library on the corner of the next street. They entered and John pointed out the blue-haired teen with his teammates sitting nearby, all three were engrossed in their own choice of book from the library.

"There he is. I'll leave you to speak with him," said John.

"Thanks," John nodded and left the library as Hiccup approached Neptune.

"Hello Neptune," said Hiccup.

"Hey. Do you have any more world-changing revelations to tell me and my team about?" asked Neptune.

"Not this time. We're going to leave Mistral and head back to Atlas soon. Do you want to come?"

"Yeah. Come on guys, let's get ready to leave."

The three immediately rose after Neptune said that.

"They were listening to us, weren't they," It wasn't a question but Neptune responded with a nod.

"Okay, pack your stuff and wrap up warm. Atlas is quite cold. I'll meet you at the airport with everyone else,"

"Alright," said Neptune and the trio left.

Hiccup then called Yang. "Found Neptune, Yang. Where are you right now?"

"K-Kinda busy right now!" growled Yang as the sounds of yells and crashes echoed through the speaker. "I- Ow! Alright that's it!" said Yang before the line died.

Hiccup stopped for a moment, sighing in resignation. "She got into another fight, joy."

"Well, I've got to go find out where she is I guess," said Hiccup before remembering about the others, promoting him to take out his scroll.

'Found Neptune and his team. They've agreed to come with us. Tell Ozpin and bring Toothless to Mistral airport. I've got to find Yang. I think she's fighting someone right now,' Hiccup texted Astrid.

'Will do. Thanks for finding Stormfly for me Hiccup,' came Astrid's swift text in reply.

Hiccup responded with 'You're welcome Milady,' smiling as he backtracked to the street where John's forge was on.

His forge was at one end of the street, at the other there was a bar.

Hiccup decided to head over there, as he knew a fight would likely happen there, out of all the buildings on the street.

Thinking back to what he remembered from life on Berk, most Vikings would fight while drunk. Except for Mildew, who to his memory, always seemed to be angry, regardless of whether he was drunk or sober. There may have been no difference between the two states on his part.

Hiccup shook his head to dispel his thoughts and looked at the bar at the end of the street.

Suddenly, a figure was thrown through one of the windows of the bar.

Hiccup wasn't close enough to see what the figure looked like, but the figure was followed by someone with blond hair.

Hair that was unmistakably long and glowing brightly. Distinct enough that Hiccup immediately knew who the second figure was.

Hiccup broke into a sprint as the blond-haired person started raining punches down on the first person, who he could now see had black hair and green eyes.

"Calm down Yang," said Hiccup when he reached the angry blond, her eyes were red and her semblance was in full swing.

She stared at him for a moment, recognising him just before a second black-haired figure - a girl who looked identical to the first figure and had sharp claws as a weapon - slashed at Yang's back.

Yang got off the first figure and turned to the other with a roar, which forced Hiccup to intervene.

"All of you calm down," said Hiccup as he pointed his axes at each of the black-haired girls.

"Why should we? She started it,"

"You look familiar… have I seen you two before,"

"Junior is their uncle," Yang growled.

"Right… were they there when you attacked his bar?"

"Yes,"

"Well, that explains the hostility here. We'll just be going. Sorry about any injuries my violent friend might have given you. We're going now, come on Yang," Hiccup gripped her arm and started to lead her away from the twins.

"Good riddance," they sneered at Yang.

"I'm not done with them Hiccup," snarled Yang, trying to escape Hiccup's grip.

His grip tightened further. "Yes, you are. I've found Neptune and his team. It's time for us to go. We've got an airship to wait for,"

"Let me go Hiccup," ordered Yang, struggling even harder to escape his grasp.

"Stop struggling or I will knock you out, sling you over my shoulder and carry you that way," threatened Hiccup.

Yang fell silent at that, with Hiccup only letting go of her arm when the twins were out of sight.

"You didn't need to do that, Hiccup," said Yang

"Can you honestly tell me that you wouldn't leave them injured, Yang?" asked Hiccup before sighing. "We've already got one violent person in our group. We don't need another,"

"What? We don't have two violent people in our group. Who is the second person?"

"I am," said Hiccup, catching Yang by surprise.

The pair then walked the rest of the way to the airport in awkward silence, where they waited for the others including Neptune's team and Qrow.

"So what is happening now?" asked Qrow when he arrived with Ozpin, Astrid and Gobber, as well as Stormfly and Toothless.

"We're going back to Atlas. We have a plan to beat Salem. We just need to wait for Neptune, Sage and Scarlet," explained Hiccup.

Qrow nodded and they waited for them to arrive before looking for an airship that was heading back to Atlas.

"I think it's going to be a bit cramped with both dragons on board," said Yang.

"We can fly ahead. Toothless does love to fly, and it's been a few days since I flew with him," said Hiccup.

"How about Stormfly and I race you there Hiccup? We'll get to see which dragon is faster," said Astrid.

"Fine with me Milady. Prepare to lose," Hiccup smirked.

"Oh it's on now, Haddock," she smirked in return before running to climb onto Stormfly's back. Stormfly took off, accelerating as they headed northwest.

"See you in Atlas everyone," said Hiccup before Toothless took off when Hiccup had climbed onto his back.

Toothless accelerated to his top speed to catch up with Astrid and Stormfly while everyone else boarded the airship and it took off for Atlas.

Yang sat down next to Gobber in the airship. "I want you to try and talk to him about Glynda when we get to Atlas. I'll help in any way I can," said Yang

"I'll do my best, but stubbornness runs in his family. Don't take it personally if he doesn't listen to you lass," replied Gobber.

"What was he like back before he left? He hasn't told me much about his home." asked Yang.

"I'll tell you, but you might want to get comfortable, lass. It's a bit of a long story," Yang straightened her back in her seat and motioned for Gobber to begin to tell the tale.

"Well I guess I should start by telling you about his family. His father is called Stoick the Vast…"

* * *

That night, an airship landed in the forest near Mistral and a figure disembarked.

Turning, he looked at the three people he had been travelling with as they each stood in the open doorway in the airship's side.

"Farewell our young Fall maiden and you, children. I have a task to complete to please the goddess,"

"I'll be looking forward to see you fail," said Emerald.

"I recall you three failing before. Almost ruining our divine saviour's plan entirely. I won't be making the same mistake," the figure said, leaning in close to Emerald while smiling unnervingly.

"Back off freak," spat Mercury.

"Oh, how sweet. You have a knight in shining armour," the figure started giggling at some unknown joke.

"Let's go back inside," said Cinder from behind Emerald and Mercury, placing a hand on their shoulders. "Tyrian knows we'll be waiting for him and I personally can't stand hearing anymore of his giggling.

They turned and entered the airship, doing their best to ignore Tyrian's insane laughter.

To their relief, his giggling eventually receded into the night and silence returned to the moonlit forest.

* * *

A/N: So Hiccup's plan to beat Salem has now been set in motion and everyone is on the move.

Meanwhile, Salem is about to make her next move in her scheme of world domination, Tyrian, the guy who I described at the end of the last chapter has been introduced and Cinder, Emerald and Mercury are back in the story again.

Until Next Time.

Silvolde.


	30. Sparring Practice

A New World

Chapter 30: Sparring Practice

A/N: Welcome to the next chapter. Let's get started.

* * *

The Mistral police station was quiet at this time of the night, besides a few on-duty police officers. There were at most five in the building at the current time. Out of those five, one officer was sitting at reception, bored out of his mind.

The door at the entrance to the building opened automatically, letting in a rush of cold air as someone entered and approached the officer at reception.

The officer looked up from the desk scroll in front of him, taking in the expression of a man who was grinning at him in a manner that sent shivers down the officer's spine.

The man had brown hair that was braided to look like a scorpion's tail. He wore a brown coat, which was open, displaying his chest with scars crisscrossing across it.

"Excuse me. I was hoping you could help me find someone. His name is Arthur Watts," said Tyrian, before he began laughing like a madman.

"Y-yes, he is in a holding cell just down the hall, first on the left," gulped the officer.

He was so nervous that it didn't occur to him how the man standing before him knew, about an arrest that had taken place only two days prior, and in secret.

"Thank you," said Tyrian before shooting him dead.

Down the hall, Arthur Watts and Leonardo Lionheart were both roused from their sleep by the sound of gunfire.

The room opposite, where the other officers were on break, burst open as all of them ran towards reception before they were each gunned down.

Tyrian strolled over to the holding cell after collecting a set of keys from one of the now-dead police officers and unlocking the door, freeing the pair held within.

"We've got work to do, and our goddess waits for no one," said Tyrian.

* * *

The airship the others were travelling in, overtook both Toothless and Stormfly as Atlas came into view.

For the first few minutes after leaving Mistral, both dragons had been pushed to their top speed.

Hiccup and Astrid had quickly realised that their dragons wouldn't be able to keep up the pace for the entire journey, so they let them slow down to their regular speed for most of it.

Now, however, the race between the two of them had begun.

"Hey, Astrid?" asked Hiccup as he manoeuvred Toothless closer to Stormfly, so he could talk to Astrid without having to raise his voice too much.

"What is it?" responded Astrid.

"The first person to reach and stand on the ground wins the race?" proposed Hiccup.

"You're on Haddock! Prepare to lose!"

"I'd like to see you try Hofferson! Give it your best shot bud!"

Toothless roared happily in response and proceeded to dive, tucking in his wings slightly as he did so, to get as much speed as possible, while the characteristic whine of the dragon started to sound.

Minutes later, the race was over, with Hiccup and Toothless the winners of said race.

The victorious pair landed facing Atlas Academy, which towered over them.

Stormfly landed in the next moment, with a displeased Astrid on her back.

"I want a rematch," she demanded.

"By all means, Milady. You do know that I can't make Toothless slower though, so is there a point in trying?"

"Yes. Stormfly happens to go faster when I feed her chicken. I'll find some and Stormfly will race Toothless again."

"Alright then. Now, are you up for a spar after we meet the others again?"

"Absolutely," replied Astrid.

"Good, now let's head over to Atlas Academy," said Hiccup.

They then set off for the school in front of them, their dragons happily following their riders.

"Hey, Hiccup!" called out Yang, when the got to the entrance. "Who one the race?"

Everyone else was standing nearby, with Ruby, Neptune, Sage, Scarlet and of course Yang all looking interested in the answer.

Ozpin and Qrow meanwhile, were talking to each other, both completely uninterested in the other conversation that was taking place.

"I did," answered Hiccup. "Astrid wants another race though,"

"Well tell me when you have it. I'd like to watch. Now though, I want to get inside and meet the others again. It's freezing out here," said Yang, before turning and heading inside.

Everyone, including the dragons, followed suit within the next moment.

Stepping inside, they found General Ironwood and team JNPR waiting for them.

"Welcome back to Atlas. I hope it wasn't too cold for you all?" said Ironwood.

The General then noticed Stormfly and frowned. "You have a new dragon. Right. That might cause problems if the dragons are noticed. I guess it can't be helped though," shrugged Ironwood.

"Anyway," Ironwood continued. "What are you going to do with the other relics?"

"That's a story I don't think you'll like. I think we should go to your office if you want to hear it,"

"Alright then… follow me," Ironwood turned and marched away.

Hiccup leaned over to whisper into Yang's ear. "He's going to be angry when I tell them about how we're working with Raven now. Him and team JNPR. I could use some ideas on how to broach the subject right about now,"

"I've got nothing. Might want to make ourselves scarce soon," whispered back Yang.

They entered Ironwood's office after leaving both Toothless and Stormfly outside.

"So what will you be doing with the relics?" asked Ironwood, repeating his question from earlier.

'Here goes nothing' thought Hiccup.

"We will be moving the relics out of Salem's reach… with Raven Branwen's help,"

"You're letting the person who killed professor Goodwitch help us," said Jaune, an edge in his voice.

"Yes, but I have a reason for it," said Hiccup.

Hiccup paused and glanced at each member of Team JNPR. Jaune looked murderous, Pyrrha and Nora looked shocked and even Ren looked angry instead of calm.

Hiccup then looked at Ironwood, the man surprising him by appearing calm for the moment.

"It better be a good one then," said Jaune, an edge still in his voice.

"It's simple. She can create portals that let you travel to other worlds. My world in particular. Salem can't reach the relics there," replied Hiccup.

"That's an unconventional plan, to say the least," commented Ironwood. "Do you have a way to contact Raven when you want to move a relic?"

"Yes. I have her scroll number. She gave me a piece of paper with the number written on it," said Hiccup.

"Alright. Well, why don't we move another relic at the end of the day when I'm not busy?

"Fine with me,"

"Are you seriously going along with this?" Jaune demanded. "Raven killed professor Goodwitch, and you want to work with her?!"

"Yes. Don't forget, I was there. I think about Glynda all the time Jaune,"

"So why are you working with her?!"

"Because I don't want anyone else, especially anyone in this room, to die. You were there when the Amity Colosseum was attacked. That was Salem," Hiccup glanced at Jaune, who was not angry and instead looked sad at the reminder of the attack.

"I don't want another kingdom to be attacked like that. As much as I wish Raven hadn't killed Glynda, she can help stop Salem, so I tolerate her," said Hiccup. "For now."

Jaune clenched his fists before he looked away, remaining silent all the while.

"Alright, after that argument from Jaune and speech on Hiccup's part, let me show you to your new rooms," said Ironwood as he strode over to the door, opened it and motioned for everyone to follow before moving past Toothless and Stormfly.

* * *

"Can I talk to you for a moment Hiccup?" asked Astrid.

Ironwood had shown them their new rooms and left everyone to do as they wished.

"Yes. What do you want to talk about?"

"Glynda,"

Hiccup sighed. "Now?"

"Yes. Just hear me out, please?" asked Astrid.

"Alright. Hurry up," replied Hiccup.

"Alright, why are you blaming yourself for Glynda's death?"

"Because I couldn't save her. I know I couldn't win against Raven, but I still feel guilty. That time I got mad, I went into town and talked to a blacksmith. At the time I hoped he would have a solution so I wouldn't feel guilty, but I still feel horrible,"

"Alright. Let me let you in on a little secret of mine: I've killed people before," said Astrid.

Hiccup blinked. "What? Did I hear you right?"

"Yup. Stormfly and I have killed people who hunted dragons for a living. You remember how I mentioned Viggo Grimborn soon after I got here?"

She waited for Hiccup to nod before continuing. "Yeah, they worked for him," said Astrid.

"Anyway, you feel guilty because you couldn't protect Glynda, even if there was nothing you could have done. That's normal. Gobber still feels the same way about Grump. I can tell, even if he hides it well,"

"Grump?" asked Hiccup.

"His dragon. It was killed by Viggo's hunters in a trap. Gobber almost got captured after that. He killed quite a few hunters the next chance he got," said Astrid.

"Alright,"

"The point is you shouldn't beat yourself up about it too much, Hiccup. Gobber got used to Grump being gone. you and everyone else here will get used to Glynda being gone, and I'll be here for you if you want someone to talk to, for as long as you want me to,"

Hiccup smiled. "Thanks, Astrid. That means a lot,"

"You're welcome Hiccup. Want to spar to get your mind off Glynda?"

"Definitely," came the reply.

"Alright. Why don't you find a room for sparring in? There's something I need to do first. I'll catch up,"

"How will you find it?" asked Hiccup.

"I'll ask Ironwood if I get lost. Go on,"

"As you wish Milady,"

When Hiccup was out of sight, Astrid took out her scroll.

'I heard what you and Gobber were talking about the other day. You should know that I've talked to Hiccup recently, so the problem could be solved. We'll see if it is though.' she sent the text to Yang and set off to find Hiccup.

* * *

Hiccup made the first move, swinging his axe in an arc towards Astrid.

She jumped back, just as Hiccup moved the axe to his other arm mid-swing and swung in another arc from the other direction.

Astrid swiped at him, making him dodge the strike by jumping back as she did.

Then, while Astrid is left open, he got in close and swiped at her.

She ducked under the blow, taking the chance to get behind Hiccup and swipe at his back.

Hiccup spun around, keeping his back protected but taking a hit with his aura regardless, as her axe connected with his torso.

If it weren't for his aura, his leather armour would have been cut. Perhaps Astrid would have caused him to bleed if that had happened.

"Bad luck Haddock," smirked Astrid. "You need to try harder than that."

"Oh, you want me to go all out? I would be happy to oblige, Milady," grinned Hiccup.

Hiccup took a step back and sheathed his axes. He then took the shield from where he had left it off to the side, putting it over his right hand and took one axe in his left hand. All the while, Astrid stood watching him with her axe.

"What are you doing?" asked Astrid, wondering what brought on the sudden change in weaponry.

"I don't think it would easily happen, considering the upgrades. But, it wouldn't hurt to practice with my shield and axe, so I could still fight if I lost one of them, as unlikely as that might be." came the reply.

"Okay," she said, getting into her fighting stance again.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Yup. Prepare to lose for the second time, Hofferson," he taunted.

This time, Astrid moved first. She went for an overhead strike, bringing the axe in a downwards arc.

Hiccup blocked the hit with his shield before kicking out at her legs.

She stumbled and Hiccup followed up with a swipe at her midsection.

Astrid responded by intentionally falling backwards to avoid the axe. She rolled away to avoid any further strikes before jumping up.

"Interesting move there Milady," he commented before tossing his axe to the side, on his left.

Thinking Hiccup was defenceless, she advanced and swung at him.

Hiccup moved the shield to his right hand, hiding it from view as he blocked Astrid's axe with the shield. He flexed his gloved left hand, and his axe sailed towards his left hand.

He grabbed it and swiped at Astrid, who was caught off guard for a moment. It was all the time it took for Hiccup to land a hit and take away some of her aura.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"Gravity dust. It lets you draw objects together. I have some in the handles of each of my axes and these gloves,"

"Seems quite useful. Up for another round of sparring?"

"Absolutely," said Hiccup.

"Alright then-" She fell silent mid-sentence as a knife sailed past her ear. She then scrambled back as Hiccup followed up swiping at her with his axe, intending to catch her off guard once again.

The pair fell into a comfortable rhythm as they repeatedly swiped and dodged in turn during their spar.

Hiccup threw another throwing knife at Astrid. She was prepared for it this time, knocking it aside with her axe.

The spar seemed like it would come to an end when Hiccup tossed his axe to the side like before, with Astrid responding by tearing his shield from his grasp using her axe and knocking his axe aside when he tried to retrieve it.

She then knocked him to the ground, pressing a foot to his chest to pin him there as she brought her axe close to his face.

"Seems like I win, Hiccup," she grinned down at him.

"You've forgotten one small thing, Milady,"

"Forgotten what?"

In response, Hiccup disappeared for a moment before reappearing a step back. He kicked at her legs, knocking her down before retrieving his axe and pinning her like she had a moment prior.

"Shall we call this a draw?" an amused Hiccup asked. "The way I see it is this happening over and over again, so it could become a stalemate,"

"True. Draw it is then Hiccup," Hiccup then stepped back to let Astrid stand up.

When Hiccup and Astrid left the training room after sparring, they both saw a portal form in front of them. They continued to watch as Raven stumbled out of the portal.

"What happened to you Raven?" asked Hiccup.

"I've been poisoned. I'm going to need to stay here for a bit. I'll also need a doctor. I was ambushed earlier," said Raven as she clutched a wound that was just above her right hip. She suddenly pitched forward, forcing Hiccup to run forward and awkwardly catch her as she fell unconscious in his arms.

"C-can you get Ironwood and Qrow and meet me at the infirmary? T-they'll want to know about this," said Hiccup, his voice urgent as he addressed Astrid, who nodded and sprinted away.

* * *

It was noon in Mistral when the airship landed in an area of Mistral that was far from civilisation, besides the stone building nearby.

Two figures stepped outside the vehicle.

The first was a young man with red hair, bull horns on either side of his head and a White Fang mask which hid his scarred eye.

The other was a particularly buff man with dark brown hair and a neutral expression.

They both proceeded to walk in silence until the first figure turned to the second and spoke.

"Not the talkative type are you, Hazel?" said Adam.

"We can't all be as blessed as you," grunted Hazel.

"Humans don't usually come here," Adam stopped before he entered, turning towards the human before him with an eerie stare, almost as if he was giving him a warning. "I should go inside first to meet Sienna Khan."

Hazel nodded once and Adam entered the building alone, the guards at the entrance casting suspicious glances at Hazel before letting Adam pass.

"Don't mind him. He won't do anything," said Adam, to reassure the guards before stepping inside the building.

Inside the building, which was the White Fang headquarters, Adam Taurus knelt before Sienna Khan, who is sitting on a throne flanked by two guards on either side of her.

"Adam. I'm not going to repeat myself, so I want you to listen when I tell you that the White Fang will not attack Atlas Academy, regardless of what plan you have," said Sienna

"High Leader Khan, I am begging you."

"You should beg for forgiveness and nothing else! The assault you led on Beacon was not the great victory you think it was, and you should be grateful that I have not killed you by now for the war you could have started with the other kingdoms. You are a symbol for many in our organization, but that doesn't make you infallible,"

"I was merely trying to follow your example, High Leader," replied Adam

"And what example might that be?"

"Strength. Strength and unwavering conviction. Humans have seen that strength now."

"I was one of the first to suggest violence where violence was necessary. Peace bred complacency and acceptance of our place in the world. I will not allow humanity to push us down without pushing them back," Sienna paused before continuing, her voice rising as she spoke.

"But the destruction of the Huntsman Academies crosses a line! The loss of the CCT brought global communication to a crawl! The White Fang is more of a target now than ever before! You justified humanity to potentially start a campaign against us, and for what?! Empty promises from a group of humans? Humans we still know nothing about, and come and go as they please! These are not examples of strength, Adam. They are examples of your talents being diminished by shortsightedness!" Sienna snarled.

"If you want to know more about the humans, then why not talk to one of them yourself?" Adam rose and turned toward the entrance to the room.

"Hazel!" Adam called out.

Hazel Rainart opened the doors to the large room. "Took you long enough," he said.

As Hazel entered the room, Sienna rose from her seat and her guards all pointed their spears towards Hazel.

"What is this?" demanded Sienna.

"Apologies. I don't aim to cause any trouble," said Hazel.

"You've brought a human here?!" shouted Sienna.

"You should hear what he has to say," said Adam.

"This is grounds for execution, Adam!"

"Ma'am, please. Nobody needs to die today," said Hazel before he knelt before her in respect. "I'm just asking for a moment of your time."

"The longer you stay here, the less of a chance you have of leaving alive."

"I'll take those chances if you don't mind," replied Hazel.

Sienna sits back down, her guards return to their neutral position and Hazel rose to his feet again before continuing to speak.

"You don't like me. You have no reason to like me. But you don't have to like me to get the results you want,"

"I'm starting to doubt either of you fully comprehend what it is that I want. I want humanity to fear the Faunus, to know that we demand respect! I do not want to start a war with the humans that we cannot win!"

"That's where you're wrong," stated Adam.

Sienna and Hazel focused on Adam who began to advance toward Sienna while continuing to speak.

"We can win a war against the humans. Not only because we have the support of Hazel's master, but because the Faunus are the dominant species of this planet. We're better than humans. We have everything humans have and more. Humans shouldn't just fear the Faunus, they should serve the Faunus."

Sienna let out a long irritated sigh before replying. "I've had enough of this conversation for tonight. Guards, take them away."

The guards remained stationary.

"I said, take them away!"

"I will admit, Sienna, you were right about my popularity. My followers in Vale already see me as the true High Leader. And many here in Mistral and Atlas feel the same."

Four armed White Fang soldiers enter through the main doors and stop, pointing their weapons into the room as Sienna got to her feet.

"What are you doing?" asked Hazel.

"What's right for the Faunus. From this day forward, I will be the one to lead the White Fang," replied Adam.

Four more soldiers reveal themselves with their weapons drawn, two on each side of the room, as Sienna's guards point their weapons at her. Sienna quickly judges the situation, though taken by surprise. Her eyes narrowed darkly.

"If you think I'll just step aside and follow beneath you, you're wrong Adam," snarled Sienna.

As she turns toward him, Sienna is impaled by Adam's weapon.

"I know," said Adam.

He lifted the blade, making it slide deeper into Sienna's body and lifting it off the ground. Her Fists were clenched as Adam took advantage of her proximity to rest a hand on her shoulder and speak into her ear.

"Thank you, Sienna. You were there when our people needed you, but they need me now. I'm sorry you couldn't see this through to the end."

Sienna growled at this and lifts her hand to claw at Adam's neck. Before she makes contact, Adam swiftly removes his sword from Sienna, causing her body to fall to the ground and roll to the bottom of the steps that lead up to her throne.

The White Fang soldiers began to withdraw their weapons as Hazel looked down at her body before returning his sight to Adam with an annoyed look.

"Give our former leader a proper burial. All who were here tonight will claim that Sienna was murdered by a human Huntsman. Sienna Khan will become a martyr for our cause, her final act as High Leader," ordered Adam.

All of the White Fang soldiers leave the room, two carrying Sienna's body with them on a stretcher, leaving Adam and Hazel the only ones remaining.

"When were you planning on telling me about that?" asked Hazel.

Adam withdrew a cloth from his back pocket and slid it across Wilt's blade, cleaning it of Sienna's blood.

"This was my business, not yours," came the reply.

"It's our business now, and I don't appreciate you withholding things like that,"

"Your master was concerned with Sienna's willingness to work with us. Now she doesn't have to be."

"Kill anyone else without telling me, especially when it is not necessary and you could be next," warned Hazel. "Nobody needed to die today."

Hazel then turned and left the room as Adam sat down on the throne.

"I… disagree," said Adam.

* * *

The next day, Raven was greeted by the sight of Ironwood, Qrow, Hiccup, Ozpin and Yang.

They were all staring at her as she laid on her bed in the infirmary.

"What's with all the staring?" asked Raven.

"Well, it could be because that was one of the most powerful poisons the infirmary staff have ever seen. At least that is what they told me. You're lucky to be alive," said Ironwood.

"Care to tell us who poisoned you, sis?" Qrow said.

"I can't say much. I didn't stick around to see him. But I remember him giggling like a madman after he poisoned me using his scorpion tail,"

"Scorpion tail? He's a Faunus?" exclaimed Hiccup.

"Yes, obviously," drawled Raven.

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you. That's my thing," said Hiccup.

Raven rolled her eyes at that. "I think you should go get the other relics. No point in wasting more time now,"

"Agreed," said Yang. "Where do we go first though?"

Ozpin leaned close to whisper in Raven's ear, with the maiden nodding along to what he was saying.

"You'll see," said Raven a moment later, as she proceeded to get out of bed. She paused after standing up and looked down at the gauze that had been placed just above her right hip.

"You'll be needing this," said Qrow, drawing her attention to see him holding her sword in his arms.

She took it, nodding in thanks before she created a portal with it.

* * *

Beacon was where they were going.

Or to be precise the library in the school.

However, the portal brought Yang, Ozpin, Astrid and Hiccup, along with both dragons to Summer Rose's grave on the hill opposite Taiyang's home.

The four of them then flew to Beacon on dragon back, Ozpin sat on Toothless behind Hiccup and Yang sat on Stormfly behind Astrid.

The others had stayed behind in Atlas and Raven was waiting for Hiccup to call after they had the relic so she could prepare a portal for them to return.

Raven would then move the relics to Midgard and Hiccup's plan would be complete.

"So where is the relic?" asked Hiccup when they arrived.

"Nearby," said Ozpin before striding over to the bookshelves. He looked among them before speaking again.

"Miss Xiao Long, would be so kind as to shift these bookshelves?"

"Can do," Yang delivered a shot from her gauntlet to the bookshelves, toppling the books and leaving the bookshelves in a broken heap of wood on the floor.

"What is her semblance exactly? She seems to be able to do a lot with it," said Astrid.

"Her semblance lets her absorb hits and get stronger as a result. Her body temperature increases as well, but the red eyes and glowing hair doesn't do anything," replied Hiccup.

Ozpin then started to clear away the heap of wood with Yang helping out as well.

Once that was done, he pointed at the floor where the bookshelf had stood. "I didn't think I would ever say this. Miss Xiao Long, do your worst,"

Yang grinned and fired at the particular section of the floor after Ozpin had taken a few steps back.

She fired a shot, which did nothing, the second which dented the floor, followed by the third and final shot which destroyed the floor entirely.

"What was that about?" asked Yang.

"That section of floor was reinforced with the strongest metal I could find at the time. When I became Headmaster of Beacon that is," replied Ozpin. "Doesn't hurt to be prepared," he added.

Ozpin then reached in. When his hand emerged, he was holding a very old and tattered looking box that was no bigger than a shoebox.

"All done here. Let's get back to Atlas," said Ozpin.

Upon return to Atlas Academy's infirmary, Ozpin handed the relic to Raven. "Do your thing,"

Moments later, the deed was done. "That's three of the four relics safe and sound now. We're almost done here," said Raven.

"Next stop is Vacuo, let's get ready to go there," stated Hiccup.

* * *

A/N: So Hiccup and the others are almost finished with his plan. There will still be stuff planned for this story after Hiccup's plan is complete though, so don't go away just yet.

Also, I would like to mention that Sienna will be the last good (good-ish in Sienna's case) guy death in the story, at the very least for the next few chapters.

I can assure you all that the next chapter will be entirely death free.

Until Next Time

Silvolde


	31. The Relic of Knowledge

A New World

Chapter 31: The Relic of Knowledge

A/N: Hiccup's plan is almost complete, and the end of the story creeps ever closer.

* * *

An air horn sounded loudly and an offramp was lowered on the ship bearing Blake Belladonna and Sun Wukong to allow passengers to disembark.

The town had many small buildings and homes set among dunes and palm trees. Sun and Blake make their way from the deck to the offramp. She proceeds without pause while Sun stops to look at the town.

"Huh," said Sun. "Wasn't expecting this,"

Several Faunus in summer wear meandered around casually at the dock, some waiting for friends or family among the new arrivals.

The dock is also a commercial area, with mobile kiosks selling food and other wares. It gave a relaxed atmosphere on a sunny day.

Sun is looking around while he and Blake disembark and walk through the market area together.

"I've never seen so many Faunus in one place!" exclaimed Sun.

"This is the one place everyone can feel safe, no matter who or what they are," said Blake.

"Wow, sure is, uh, crowded, huh?" replied Sun, still in awe.

Blake smiled. "Yes. Yes, it is,"

Sun recoiled to dodge a Faunus carrying a box. "Is it always so… cramped?"

"Well, when you try and take an entire species and put them on an island that's two-thirds desert, yeah, it tends to be cramped,"

"What! You guys have that much more space? Why waste it? A little desert never hurt anyone!"

"It's not like the desert in Vacuo, Sun. The wildlife here is more dangerous than most other regions,"

"So, they give us a terrible island, in the corner of Remnant, to try and shut us up,"

"That's a pretty good summary, yeah,"

"Huh. Jerks,"

"We try to make the best of things,"

The two paused in their walk to look at the view of the town the road afforded.

The road they were on went downhill and to the side, bordered by palm trees and homes that have either canvas or wood roofs.

The vista of palm trees spread out to the edge of mountainous dunes in the distance.

Right in the middle of all this is a large house with an open courtyard that the road appeared to lead directly to.

The house is at least three stories and out of all of the buildings in the area, it had the biggest roof.

"Whoa…" said Sun.

"This, is Kuo Kuana,"

"It's…beautiful. I take it all back. This place looks great! Why would anyone ever want to leave?"

"That's not the point, Sun! We asked to be equal, to be treated just like everyone else. Instead, we were given an island and told to make do. So we did the best we could. We came together and we made a home where any Faunus could feel welcome. But this island, this town, will always be a reminder that we're still not equal," her face fell.

"That we're still second-class citizens," she added a moment later.

Sun laid a hand on her shoulder. "Well, hey, this guy's feeling pretty at home."

Blake smiled at his enthusiasm. "Alright, time to go home."

Sun moved his hand to her other shoulder and pulled her closer to him. "Oh yeah? Which one's yours? Can you see it from here?"

Sun uses his free hand like a visor to help him peer at the houses and avoid the glare of the sun.

"Kind of."

"Is it that one?" Sun asked as he pointed away from Blake.

"What about that tiny one down there?" He is now pointing at a house on Blake's left. "I like the paint job."

Blake grasped Sun's arm by the wrist and directed it towards the large house at the end of the road. "It's…that one."

Sun stared at it for a second before pointing his finger at her with a questioning expression.

Blake nodded in response to his unspoken question. Sun looked at her for another moment before stepping back. He covered the sides of his head and crouched a bit, staring wide-eyed at the house and making a comical, amazed noise.

Blake smiled and shook her head at Sun's antics.

* * *

Blake and Sun walked side by side up the stone steps to the front door of the house. Blake hesitated when she moved to use the knocker on the door.

"What is it?" asked Sun.

"I um…it's just been a long time since I've seen my parents."

"Well, you came all this way, and I'm here for you if you need me Blake."

Blake took a quick breath for courage, before giving Sun a grateful smile and bangs the door with the door knocker.

It made a loud, heavy, resonating sound on the large door. Sun stared up, stepping back a step while Blake politely backed away from the door a few paces.

"Okay, if we're being honest, that's kind of intimidating," said Sun as he pointed at the door knocker. Both Sun and Blake give a start at the sound of the door being opened.

A female cat Faunus is behind it, looking around at the visitors. Her ears perk up and she moves the door out of the way, stepping forward when she recognizes her daughter.

"Blake?" said the Faunus in disbelief.

"Hi, mum," Blake gave an awkward wave.

Kale stepped forward and embraced her daughter. "My baby girl."

Blake hesitated, uncertain for a moment, before her face softened into a smile and she hugged her mother back.

They stand in front of the open doorway. From inside the house, heavy footsteps could be heard coming closer and a shadow fell onto the carpeted entryway. Kali let go of Blake and turned around at the sound of a deep voice.

"Kali? Who is it?"

A tall, muscular faunus stood with his hands on his hips, waiting to greet the visitor. He had black hair, a beard and yellow eyes. He wore an open dark violet coat with white fur trim, which exposed his hairy chest. Over his beige pants is a matching sash that wraps around his waist and is secured with a large silver metal buckle. The white toes of his black leather boots have a shape reminiscent of paws with claws at the tips.

The Faunus' quizzical expression as he stared at Sun, Kali and Blake quickly changed to wide-eyed surprise as he recognised his daughter, before his hands, shoulders, and face all fell in a clear, emotional reaction to the sight of his daughter having come home.

Sun saw this and grinned, pleased at Blake's welcome as he turned to look at how she's taking it. Blake hands were clasped in front of her as she waited for her father's reaction. Kali placed her hands supportively on Blake's shoulder and arm.

The Faunus in the doorway remained silent, but smiled at her, clearly happy. Blake smiled back, relieved at her father's reaction.

* * *

The four of them were now sitting on the floor around a square table. Kali set down her cup on the table.

"We were horrified when we heard the news. The Kingdom of Vale isn't perfect, but it certainly didn't deserve what happened. Oh, we were both so worried," said Kali.

"Please, I knew she'd be fine!" said Blake's father.

Kali scoffed at that. "That isn't the slightest bit true. You should have seen him pacing. He got so worried that he asked Sienna if she knew where you were a while back."

Kali's expression then darkened. "Never disappear like that again," she said firmly.

"I promise I won't," said Blake.

"See that you don't," Blake's Father stated.

"You guys have nothing to worry about. I've seen your daughter in action before! And trust me, she's got some moves!" said Sun.

Blake, who was sipping from her cup while Sun spoke, abruptly lifted her head and swallowed at his last choice of words. Blake's father glared at the young man on his right.

"And what exactly do you mean by that, Mr. Wukong?" he growled.

Sun froze and slowly turned toward his host.

"I…uh, well, you see sir, it's just that, you know, that she's such a good fighter and all, uh, and as a fellow fighter, I have a lot of respect for her…" Sun stammered.

Kali leaned over to Blake to ask quietly. "Why is he here again?"

"…And her fighting. But also for her…" Sun continued to speak in the background.

"He just kind of followed me home," replied Blake.

"…because of her fighting. Not her looks. I mean, not to say she's not good-looking. She is! Very! Or…"

"I see," mused Kali.

"…slightly, I mean she's definitely above average. I mean, uh…"

Sun struggled to find the words as all three Belladonnas watched him and waited for him to either get out of the hole he had just talked himself into or keep digging.

In the awkward silence, Sun used his tail to pick up the tea kettle and pour some more tea into his cup.

"This tea is really good," said Sun before sipping some.

"I like him," said Kali, leaning close to Blake to whisper again but everyone at the table heard her.

"Mum!" protested Blake.

The loud sound of the front door knocker resonated suddenly, catching everyone's attention.

"Darn it, I completely forgot about the meeting!" Ghira hit his fist on the table and Kali quickly covers it with her hand.

"Ghira…" Kali said softly.

"Give me a moment," He gets up and walks out of the room.

"Is everything okay?" asked Blake.

"Yes, dear, just poor timing. He can reschedule. It's just been hard dealing with them lately," said Kali before sipping some more of her tea.

"Dealing with who?" asked Blake.

Kali placed her cup back on the table. "Hmm? The White Fang,"

Sun and Blake both rose to their feet. "WHAT?!" they exclaimed.

Blake and Sun rushed to the door, where Ghira is speaking with two fox Faunus. The two visitors maintain respectful, formal postures, keeping their hands clasped before them.

"Dad!"

"Blake, what's wrong?" Ghira asked, turning to face her.

"Miss Belladonna," said one of the Faunus.

"We had no idea you'd returned," said the other.

Every time either one of the two Albain brothers spoke, they gestured with their hands and ended with clasping their hands before their chests again.

"What are you doing talking to these people?" demanded Blake.

"This is Corsac and Fennec Albain. They represent the White Fang here in Menagerie now," Ghira explained.

"Those psychos are here, too?!" exclaimed Sun.

"Young man, I'm not sure what you've heard of our organization, but I can assure you, we're not nearly as ferocious as the media would have you believe," said Fennec.

"What we've heard? We've seen firsthand. Your fanatics slaughtered people!" shouted Blake.

"What is she talking about?" Ghira asked.

"Precisely what we came to discuss with you, Your Grace," said Corsac.

Kali approached. "Is everything alright?"

"Wait, you guys seriously don't know?" asked Sun.

"Know what?" said Ghira, his tone low and dangerous.

"The White Fang was at the Vytal Festival. They attacked innocent civilians and they released Grimm into the Amity Colosseum,"

There is a brief silence. Fennec gives a sideways glance at his brother. Ghira slowly turns to face the two White Fang representatives.

"Is this true?"

"Sadly, Your Grace, it is," said Fennec.

"Don't act like you're s—"

Blake was cut off by a firm shout from Ghira. "That's enough!" Ghira looked at the pair in front of him. "Explain yourselves."

"Though it pains us to admit, it has become apparent that the Vale branch of the White Fang is no longer operating under orders of High Leader Khan. Rather, they've elected to follow the rule of one Adam Taurus. I believe you're all familiar with the young adept and his… extreme philosophies," said Corsac.

"You know, Beacon wasn't the first time the Fang started shooting up Vale," said Sun.

"The High Council had their suspicions of a splinter group, but they could prove nothing until this latest incident," said Fennec.

"'Incident'? People are dead!" hissed Blake.

"And it is a tragedy," said Corsac.

"Your Grace, we came to assure you that Brother Taurus and his followers do not represent the will of the White Fang," said Fennec.

"And how can I be sure of that?" asked Ghira.

"We understand if you bear any skepticism towards these claims. The White Fang's tactics are admittedly, more aggressive since you stepped down as High Leader and became Chieftain of Menagerie. But this, this is no way to make our message heard," said Corsac.

"We have ample documentation from the council meeting, as well as several strategies to apprehend and punish these strays if you care to review them," continued Fennec.

"I will, but another day. I'd like some time to reconnect with my daughter," said Ghira.

"But of course, Your Grace," said Corsac.

"We completely understand. It was a pleasure to see you again, young Blake," said Fennec.

"We were saddened when we heard of your departure from the White Fang, but understand if you can no longer support our cause," said Corsac.

"It is a wearying fight, after all," said Fennec.

"Who says I'm done fighting?" asked Blake.

"Hmm… If you ever do wish to return, you need merely come find us," said Corsac.

"Sister Ilia would be elated," Fennec added.

"Goodbye, gentlemen," said Ghira.

He firmly closes the door on them. Kali moved to stand closer and face her husband while Blake walks off.

"So… those guys were creepy," stated Sun.

"I really don't like you," said Ghira.

Outside, the two brothers descended the steps, perfectly in sync with both still walking with formally clasped hands.

Corsac, however, is now using the prayer posture that Fennec had been using all along.

"An interesting development, wouldn't you say Corsac?"

"Interesting indeed,"

"So, shall we inform Brother Adam?" asked Fennec.

"Oh, we shall," replied Corac.

"What of Sienna Khan's death? Should we let him know?" asked Fennec.

"No, it is none of his concern. Not since he left the White Fang," said Corsac.

Fennec's scroll chimed as it received a message. He glanced at it for a moment. "It seems sister Ilia has been assigned a task. She is to spy on Blake."

* * *

The first thing Hiccup noticed about Vacuo was the sand that blanketed the ground. The second thing, which he noticed as they started to descend and felt as distinctly as a punch to the face, was the heat.

A sticky sheen of sweat had formed on his face and practically ran in rivers down his face.

It was unbearable.

If Atlas was freezing, then Vacuo was the other side of the around at Oscar, Astrid, Yang and Ruby, he found none of them were doing any better, with each at least as sweaty as he was.

"Yo, pilot. Is there any chance you could land at Shade Academy? I feel like I'm about to melt," moaned Yang after getting his attention by knocking on the cockpit door.

"No promises, but I'll do my best to get close as possible. Also, don't knock on the door like that again please. Nearly gave me a heart attack," replied the pilot.

"Sorry," came Yang's sheepish reply.

The airship landed just outside the school, meaning there would be a short walk across the sandy path that ended at the entrance of the school itself and started in the city of Vacuo.

Hiccup turned to the pilot. "You can head back to Atlas. We'll make our own way back later,"

"If you're sure. I can wait you know," said the pilot.

"We're sure," replied Yang.

"Alright then, off you get,"

They disembarked and started to walk across the burning sand. Hiccup, Yang and Astrid took the lead, with Ruby and Oscar at the rear.

"Still think you should have come, Ruby? This place is like a furnace. I think I prefer Atlas now," said Hiccup.

"Yup!" said Ruby, cheerfully. "I'm sure I can handle the heat. At least until we get to Shade Academy," she added.

"Alright," Hiccup shrugged.

Shade Academy was a collection of sand coloured buildings, laid out in a square gated complex, with a pool in the center that was fed by a small stream that passed through a fountain in the center of the pool. The water travelled underground, coming from the same water supply that fed the city of Vacuo itself.

There were five buildings, with the one at the centre towering a floor or two over the rest.

There were two buildings next to the centre building and the other two buildings at the other side of the complex.

A gate was placed in between the two buildings to let people in and out, and the pool was placed in front of the gate.

There was a stone path that rimmed the pool and lead to each of the five buildings from the gate.

The complex seemed to be entirely empty, at least on the outside, with no one walking around.

Behind the group, the airship proceeded to take off. It kicked up the nearby sand, tossing it in every direction as it gradually accelerated and took off, clearing the tallest building in the complex by no more than five meters as it did so.

At the same time, the roar of the vehicle's engines prevented any conversation from being heard or started up by anyone in the group while it roared past overhead.

The group of five walked through the gate and looked around.

"What building is the relic kept in over here, Ozpin?" asked Hiccup, when the aircraft couldn't be heard any longer.

Oscar's eyes flashed green and he pointed at the tallest of the five buildings.

"It is buried underneath that building in a vault. We'll need to bring Raven here to access it," replied Ozpin.

"Alright, I'll call her when we reach the vault. Let's go inside before I start melting," Hiccup joked lightly.

They quickly walked along the stone path and entered the tall building at the back of the complex, feeling relieved as the cold air of the air conditioning within embraced the group.

Hiccup took out his scroll and dialled Raven's number.

Raven stepped out of her portal the next moment and looked around before focusing on Hiccup.

"The whole point of that number is that you only call me when you have a relic,"

"This relic is locked in another Vault. We need a maiden to open it," said Hiccup with an eye roll at her comment.

"Then let's not waste more time. Lead the way Ozpin," said Raven.

"Wait, how are we supposed to get down to the vault here?" asked Hiccup.

"There is a lift that will take us there in the Headmaster's office. Follow me," said Ozpin.

The group of five followed him as Ozpin lead them to the Headmaster's office. They stood silently as he raised a fist and knocked on the door.

The door opened to reveal a tall woman with brown hair, wearing a suit and holding a cane in one hand and a coffee mug in the other. She gazed at the group of five. "Hello? Who are you?" she asked.

"You don't remember me? For shame, Rachel," teased Ozpin.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "It's happened again. Great. I take it they all know about your ability?"

"Yes, even Raven Branwen here," Ozpin nodded in Raven's direction.

"Is this the same Raven Branwen who abandoned her team?"

"Excuse me? Who are you to judge me?" demanded Raven.

"I am the Headmaster of Shade Academy, and if the story I heard from Simon is true when he called me a few days ago, you killed Glynda Goodwitch. So I think I have every right to judge you, murderer," snapped Rachel, glaring at Raven.

"Hey, let's not start a fight here. She does have maiden powers you know," said Hiccup.

"So do I. I'm the Summer Maiden," said Rachel before letting out a sigh. "Why is she here?"

"Well, she was here so we could get to the Vault. I forgot you were the Summer Maiden for a moment, so we won't be needing both of you," said Ozpin.

"You want to give Raven one of the relics, after what she has done?!" shouted Rachel.

"Yes, because Salem tried to take the relic of knowledge from Haven Academy's vault. Raven is helping us move the relics where Salem can't reach them. Three of them are safely stored away already,"

"Stored where exactly? What makes you so sure that Salem won't be able to reach them Ozpin?"

"Because I know Salem. She can't travel across dimensions, unlike Raven here,"

"So you want to get the final relic. Alright, but I'm keeping an eye on her,"

Raven opened her mouth to retort, but Ozpin spoke up first. "Absolutely fine with me. Does anyone who isn't Raven Branwen object?"

No one spoke up. "Good. If you would be so kind as to take us to the Vault, Rachel?"

In response, Rachel stepped aside, allowing the group to enter her office before she approached the lift that was concealed behind a steel panel in the wall on her right.

Once everyone was inside the room, she pressed a combination into a number pad beside the steel panel on the wall.

The lift door slid open and she stepped inside, standing within reach of the buttons for the different floors. "Let's go then you lot. I've got paperwork to deal with, so let's not waste any more time,"

The group followed suit after Rachel and she pressed a button for the lowest floor. The lift then started to descend, heading for the Vault under Shade Academy.

* * *

The group that now totalled six, reentered the lift and ascended to Rachel's office with the relic in hand.

Once there, Ozpin handed the relic to Raven, who created a portal and stored the relic away.

"We're done here," said Raven when she returned. "I'll make a portal to Atlas for everyone, and then we'll part ways,"

"Part ways? What do you mean by that exactly?" asked Hiccup.

"I mean I will leave Remnant for good. There's no reason for me to stay here,"

"You want to keep the relics to yourself?"

"No, I don't care about them, and I'm not sure they would work outside of Remnant. I just don't want me or my tribe to be ambushed."

"So you're running scared?" asked Yang, her eyes shifting red. "Running at the first sign of trouble? No wonder you left dad. I happen to have a teammate just like you,"

"I'm not scared," snapped Raven.

"Really? Because you haven't proved otherwise. Prove me wrong and stay here in Remnant,"

Raven's eyes burst into flame as her maiden powers were activated.

"Miss Xiao Long, Raven Branwen. Can I ask you both please calm down? I have a deal I would like to propose to you Raven," said Ozpin.

"It better be good,"

"The only way to beat Salem that I can see, would be to use the relics to call back the gods to Remnant and hope they deal with the problem,"

"That's wishful thinking. But, since I'm leaving, I don't particularly care what you do. If you had any sense, you would follow me,"

"And be forced to stay in your tribe? Yeah, no thanks," said Hiccup.

"You would give up the chance to go home, Hiccup?"

"Not exactly popular over there, but I do admit I might like to visit Berk someday,"

"Berk?" asked Rachel.

"They," Raven pointed at Hiccup and Astrid. "Aren't from Remnant. Do try to keep up, _Rachel_ ," drawled Raven.

"Why are you asking this anyway, Raven? Are you having second thoughts?" asked Yang.

Raven rolled her eyes and swiped a portal into being with her sword. She then entered the portal.

A few minutes passed before four objects were thrown through the portal.A blue and yellow lantern, a sword, a spear and a crown were left on the ground.

"If you leave now, then don't ever come back!" a furious Yang shouted after Raven before the portal closed.

"W-well that it then. Astrid and I are stuck here f-for good," said Hiccup before a tear rolled down one cheek.

"Hiccup…" Astrid looked to be on the verge of tears herself as she reached for him.

"Let's just head back to Atlas," said Hiccup, stepping away from Astrid and trying to ignore her hurt look.

* * *

A day later, an airship landed outside Atlas academy and a group of five walked the short distance to the school.

Neptune, Sage, Scarlet and Jaune were standing near the entrance in a conversation.

"Neptune?" asked Yang.

He spun around. "Hey guys,"

"Hello," Hiccup forced a smile.

Neptune rolled his eyes. "Drop the act. We know something has gone wrong. Kinda hard not to when it took you a full day to get back here and none of you have said anything to anyone since then. It's why we're here waiting for you to get back,"

"Anyway, just tell us where Raven has gone and why you're carrying the relics right now," Jaune added.

"Raven has left Remnant to do who knows what in Midgard. She dropped the relics here and left, meaning Astrid, Gobber and I are permanently stuck here," replied Hiccup.

"Now I want to be left alone. You were right to not trust Raven, Jaune. I never want to see Raven again, even if it would save my life."

Hiccup then proceeded to drop the sword relic he had been holding at Ozpin's feet and left, ignoring everyone's various gazes as he walked away.

He hadn't gotten far when Ozpin called out. "Wait, Hiccup." before quickly catching up with him, holding the blue and yellow lantern relic,

"I said I wanted to be left alone,"

"You did, but I have something that might help you find a way to Midgard,"

"I doubt that, but I'm curious,"

"Jinn," Ozpin called out.

A moment later, Hiccup watched as the relic suddenly began to float, before a female figure appeared.

There were gold chains wrapped around her midsection and she had long black hair and blue skin.

The figure was surrounded by a faint blue mist as she floated in mid-air.

Hiccup looked down with a blush as he noticed the figure was entirely naked.

"Wonderful," said the figure before stretching and looking around the room. She then looked down at Ozpin.

"Hello again old man. You've switched bodies again it seems," she noted before speaking again. "There are two more questions that I can answer for you during this era,"

"That's good. But I won't be the one asking the questions this time Jinn," Ozpin glanced at Hiccup for a moment before looking back at Jinn. "He has a few to ask however."

Jinn turned and focused on Hiccup. "You… you're not from Remnant," she looked at Astrid. "Neither are you. Interesting. Raven Branwen helped you get here."

"You know about her semblance?" asked Hiccup.

"I know everything. I'm the relic of knowledge after all," replied Jinn. "So tell me, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third, what knowledge do you seek?"

"How do I use the relics to call the gods Ozpin told us about, back to Remnant?"

"An interesting question, but answered easily. You arrange the relics close to each other in a circle and the gods return by themselves after that. You have one last question,"

"Seems simple enough. Alright. How do I get back to Berk?"

"The answer that you seek can be found behind you," said Jinn before she faded from view and the relic stopped floating, dropping to the ground with a thud.

Hiccup and Ozpin didn't see this happen as both had turned around to find Raven Branwen standing there, with a portal next to her.

They silently stared at Raven, until a furious Yang stomped over to them, eyes red and hair glowing brightly. With a sudden roar, she drew a fist back, preparing to punch the spring maiden.

Hiccup grabbed her wrist before she could do so. "You have five minutes to explain why you are here Raven Branwen, or I will let Yang do whatever she wants to you," said Hiccup before letting go of Yang's arm when she stopped trying to escape his vice like grip.

"Understandable. But I have a deal that you can't refuse. You, Astrid and Gobber in particular that is," said Raven.

"We'll talk in Ironwood's office then," said Ozpin. Raven nodded, Hiccup picked up the relic of knowledge and the quartet set off with Neptune, Sage, Scarlet, Jaune, Ruby and Astrid opting to follow after the four of them.

* * *

A/N: The return of the dreaded cliffhanger. A writer's favourite tool.

Tune in next week to see what happens next.

Silvolde


	32. The Heiress Sings (Part One)

A New World

Chapter 32: The Heiress Sings (Part One)

A/N: So here we are. Some making up to Astrid on Hiccup's part and something I hinted once before in an earlier chapter will happen in this chapter. The title gives another hint as well.

As the title states, this is the first of two chapters that happen in the same location. It should be the first and last time I feel the need to split chapters up in this story.

Anyway, let's begin the chapter.

* * *

The group of nine; which consisted of Neptune, Sage, Scarlet, Jaune, Hiccup, Astrid, Ruby, Ozpin and Yang, watched as the latter paced the width of Ironwood's office, spared a glance over at Raven before repeating the action for the umpteenth time.

"Do you _really_ need to keep doing that Yang?" asked Hiccup.

"Yes, because if I don't I will break someone," It was obvious who Yang meant.

"Raven," Hiccup let out a long sigh. "Why are you here?"

"I've told you already,"

"I was hoping you were here for a different reason," Hiccup muttered. "Anyway, the answer is still no. I'm not training dragons or making weapons for your tribe. I didn't come up with a plan to end this war that Salem is waging only for another to start in another world. I will not be involved in that,"

"Besides," Hiccup continued. "You don't need dragons to fight. You already outmatch every Viking in existence with your fighting ability, not to mention your maiden powers. I'm not sure why you want me,"

"Call it a change of heart."

Yang scoffed at that. "When did you get a heart in the first place? You were prepared to abandon all of us here, just so you could avoid Salem."

"People can change. I did. Do you think I was always like this Yang? I was once just as weak as you," Yang bristled at the comment.

"Your chances of convincing me to accept your offer have dropped even further. You should leave now," said Hiccup, now glaring at her.

"If you're sure about that," Raven rose to her feet and made her way to the door.

"Wait, Raven." The woman paused and turned around. Sitting down again, she spoke. "What is it?"

"I would like to join your tribe," said Astrid. "Hiccup doesn't speak for me right now," she proceeded to glare at Hiccup.

"What did I do?" a confused Hiccup asked as she stared him down.

"You've forgotten already? Think back to what you did yesterday after Raven left."

"I… oh. Nevermind."

Astrid rolled her eyes before meeting Raven's gaze again. "Anyway, I wish to return to Midgard in a week, with Gobber and with or without Hiccup."

"I would like to apologise and talk to Astrid alone for a moment. Feel free to finally chip in Ozpin, or even you Jaune, since you didn't want me to work with Raven before. The rest of you, keep an eye on Raven."

Hiccup rose and headed for the door without receiving a reply from Jaune or Ozpin. Astrid followed after him with a drawn-out sigh, closing the door behind her.

"So I want to start by saying that I'm sorry for ignoring you the other day,"

Astrid's eyes narrowed as she stared at him. "Are you? Because I don't want something like this to happen again."

"You're right that I shouldn't have done that. I guess I was feeling bad for letting Raven try to hurt you and Gobber directly. You should probably hate me now-Ow!"

The pained yelp came from a surprised Hiccup when Astrid punched him in the arm. She then embraced him.

"For someone as smart as you, you can be really stupid sometimes. How can I hate you for something you can't control?" asked Astrid, her features softening as she leaned close enough to whisper into his ear.

"I… but I asked Raven to help us move the relics. If I hadn't, she wouldn't have thought of abandoning us."

"You had no idea she would do that. So stop blaming yourself or I will punch you again, Haddock."

"Noted and moving on. What about Raven's offer? I don't want to help her or her tribe kill people, and that is what will happen if I help them to bond with dragons or fix their weapons for them."

"Are you saying that killing in self-defence is wrong?" Astrid was curious about what answer he would respond with.

"I don't like it, but I understand that you have no choice then. I'm sure you can agree that Raven doesn't think the same way. In fact, we know she doesn't since she killed Glynda."

Astrid's features softened fully at his reply. "Good answer. All that aside, what about Gobber and me?"

Hiccup became silent for a full minute. "What do you want to do? I don't want to have anything to do with Raven or her tribe like I said earlier, but you might think differently."

"I think you should agree to her offer. It's nice that you don't want to help Raven or her tribe kill people, and I don't want you to change that ever since that is what makes you the same Hiccup I knew from Berk."

"I'm sensing a 'but' coming."

"But I think you don't have a choice right now. You could say no, then regret it later on. I think you already do if that tear from yesterday morning meant anything."

"So I have no choice, huh?"

"It seems like it, unfortunately for making weapons. But when it comes to training dragons for Raven's tribe, we might be able to delay it a bit." Astrid smiled deviously.

"I like the way you think, milady."

"As you should babe."

"Babe?" Hiccup smirked. "Got a nickname for me now huh?"

"Yeah, you call me milady sometimes. Why shouldn't I give you a nickname."

"Romantic." said an amused Hiccup.

"I try," Astrid smirked. "Come on, let's tell Raven."

"I want to thank you for knocking some sense into me first though. I'll try not to be so dumb next time." said Hiccup.

"You're welcome Hiccup, and you better try." replied Astrid before they went back inside the room.

"You get your wish, Raven. I accept your offer, but I will only help you and your tribe when Salem is defeated, no matter how long it takes."

"You have two weeks, but no more. Now, I have a tribe to run, so I'll be going." Raven swiped a portal to life.

"Are you forgetting something?" Raven paused just before she entered the portal.

She looked at Hiccup, who gestured towards the relic of knowledge he was holding in his left hand.

"You did agree to move the relics out of Salem's reach." Hiccup pointed out.

"I agreed only because my tribe was in danger of becoming a target since I'm the spring maiden."

"I'm a member of your tribe now, aren't I? Therefore, you can't let me become a target of Salem. Unless you don't care about me, which we both know isn't the case."

"Oh? And what makes you think I care about you?"

"Dragon training. That and blacksmithing."

"I can find another blacksmith, and Astrid over here knows dragons as well."

"Looking for another blacksmith seems rather time-consuming, don't you think?"

"Touché. You win. I'll take the relics back."

"Wait… Was all of that just a battle of wits? You'd made your mind up before this already …right?"

"Maybe it was a battle of wits. Maybe it wasn't one. I guess you'll never know it for sure." Raven collected the four relics and stepped into the portal without another word.

The next moment after Raven left, Hiccup's scroll began to ring in his pocket. Taking it out, Hiccup saw that Coco was calling him.

"Hiccup!" A furious Coco roared, causing Hiccup to wince and hold the scroll an arm's length away from his ear.

"Where are you?! We've been looking all over Mistral for you. We even asked a team of huntresses in training from Mistral. Team ARBN was their name I think."

Hiccup brought the scroll close to his ear again. "We're in Atlas right now. And why are you there anyway? Didn't you say you didn't want to help anymore?"

Coco sighed. "I did, but that changed thanks to Velvet."

"That's good news, isn't it? I'll have to thank her for it when you all get here."

"I guess it is. Speaking of Velvet, she's calling me right now. I'll go tell the others to get ready to head over to Atlas."

"Sounds good. I'll see you soon, Coco."

"Bye," Coco then hung up.

A few moments later, the door opened and Ironwood entered his office. He paused when he noticed he currently had visitors.

"I feel like this is going to become a pattern. Anyway, I've heard that miss Schnee is going to be singing live tomorrow night at her home. You may wish to attend, miss Rose and miss Xiao Long. If you do then make sure to let me know. There are some clothes from the prom at Beacon that I could have delivered. The same goes for the rest of you as well."

"That would be great sir. I can't wait to see Weiss again. I'm sure my sister does too," said Ruby.

"Does everyone else agree with miss Rose?" Everyone nodded in response.

"I think the rest of my team would like to come along as well, sir," added Jaune.

"Alright. I'll make arrangements. You should know that miss Schnee's sister; Winter Schnee, was killed during a mission to find out about a White Fang base. I'd ask that you try not to bring up the matter, miss Rose and miss Xiao Long, as she is still upset by it."

The pair remained silent for a moment, their expressions displaying horror and shock at the news.

"I'll make sure of it, but I'm sure they wouldn't do that," said Hiccup, speaking for Ruby and Yang.

Ironwood nodded. "Now, I'd like you all to leave. I've got lots of work to do."

Hiccup nodded at the general in turn before the group filed out of the room, one by one.

* * *

The day that followed was one that Ruby Rose had been looking forward to for a while now.

Today she would get to see Weiss sing live.

What had her really excited however, was the fact that she would see her teammate and partner for the first time in months.

There was, of course, the matter of finding the right clothes to wear, since she couldn't wear her usual red and black skirt to the concert. This was something Ruby was not looking forward to and would happen to be a repeat from her time at the school prom before the Vytal Festival began.

Despite this, she wouldn't let the matter of wearing different clothes bother her today, which a certain auburn-haired boy found out the hard way.

"Ow!" Hiccup jerked awake, sat up and stared at the red-haired cannonball which was masquerading as a short innocent looking girl.

"Ruby, this is the second time you've done this. You better have a good reason for waking me up again," growled Hiccup.

"Weiss is going to be singing today. Is that a good reason?"

"Is she singing in the morning or at night?"

Ruby looked at the poster she was holding. "It says it is happening in the afternoon at 4pm on this."

"What time is it right now?"

Ruby muttered something quietly, after looking at the time on her scroll.

"What was that?"

"It says it's 8am right now," said Ruby.

"Then it's not a good reason to wake me up this early. This is the only time of day where there is no Raven, White Fang, Salem or anything else to deal with. Let me sleep and don't bother Yang as you did before!" warned Hiccup.

"Team CFVY have just got here with Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck. Cardin is also here you know."

"Well, I will go meet them _after_ my nap, and not a minute before." Hiccup lay down again and closed his eyes as Ruby pouted at him before finally leaving.

"Do you want to learn to control your semblance better?" Ren suddenly spoke up as the mostly black-haired boy sat up on his bed, making Hiccup jump.

"Please don't startle me like that again," said Hiccup after noticing Ren.

"You woke me up when you were talking to Ruby," stated Ren.

Hiccup sighed. "Well, it seems I'm fated to not get any more sleep today. So how do I learn to control my semblance?"

"You do it by meditating. I can show you how."

"I remember you mentioning that when Ozpin told us about Salem."

"And when you showed us that you can turn into a mouse," said Ren, his tone dry as a bone.

"Yeah… I did do that."

"Alright, let's begin," said Ren. "First, sit comfortably."

Hiccup sat up while Ren crossed his legs on his bed.

"Next, let's focus on being mindful. Finding that point where you are completely aware of the now."

"What does that even mean?" asked Hiccup.

"You need to focus on meditating and ignore everything else," said Ren.

"Okay."

"If you do this in the future then you will want to find a time where you will not be disturbed by anyone or anything."

"Noted."

"Whatever thoughts come and go in your mind at the moment, simply observe them, as if from a distance."

Hiccup nodded in response.

"Now, focus on your breathing. I want you to slow down your breathing as much as you can, and no more talking."

It took a few moments before Hiccup gradually started to slow down his breathing.

Hiccup's scroll then started to ring, breaking his concentration.

"I think we should continue this another time," suggested Ren. "Go answer your scroll."

Hiccup took it out of his pocket. "Hello?"

"Hiccup, I just called Qrow. He's completely drunk. I'm going to need to carry him and Gobber. Able to help?" asked Yang.

"Sure thing. Just tell me where you are."

"…One sec. There, I've activated my scroll's beacon. You should be able to find me know."

"…right."

"You don't know how to find me do you?"

"Unfortunately, I don't Yang."

Yang groaned. "You made a pair of mecha-shift axes by simply watching Ruby's sniper scythe transform a few times and you don't know how to find a person using your scroll?"

"Hey, I never said I knew everything, Yang. Besides, we don't even have scrolls or anything like that on Berk."

"Still though, two years using a scroll is a long time to go without knowing about this."

"We're getting off track here Yang. Tell me how it works, so I can write it down and help you with the drunken pair."

Hiccup moved his scroll to his right ear before he reached across for a pouch on the right forearm of his leather armour where paper was kept.

He opened it and took out a piece before bending to reach for a pouch on his armour above his right leg and taking out a pencil.

"You have a holster for a pencil? When did you get that?" asked Ren.

"What?" asked Yang.

"Uh, hold on a second, Yang." Hiccup took the scroll and covered it with one hand.

"It's for a few pencils and I've had it for a while now. I used to draw a lot in my spare time. I don't do it much anymore, although I have a few drawings of some weapons with me here," Hiccup said, patting the 'paper-pouch' that was part of his leather armour above his right forearm.

Ren nodded and Hiccup brought the scroll back to his right ear. "Sorry about that. So how do I find you, Yang?"

"Alright, so you need to look for an app on your scroll called Beacon Locator. You then select a scroll number and it will find where the person's scroll is, automatically."

"Right, got it," said Hiccup, writing the instructions down. "I'm on my way." Hiccup rose and left the room.

* * *

Half an hour later, Hiccup was standing at the doors to a bar. The app; Beacon Locator, on his scroll indicated that Yang was less than ten meters away.

Entering the room, he saw Yang in an awkward embrace with Gobber and Qrow.

She tried to back away from their embrace but froze when Qrow's hand fell to her chest.

Yang's hair started to glow in response. Seeing this, Hiccup ran forward before chaos could ensue.

He took the offending appendage away from Yang's bosoms and lifted Qrow's arm to his shoulder to carry him.

"It's a good thing you're here, for Qrow's sake," said Yang.

"How about this. You help carry Gobber and we promise to never speak of this again."

"Oh, I'm telling Qrow about this when he becomes sober Hiccup," said Yang, her red eyes starting to become lilac once again.

"Fine, just take the inevitable fight outside, please. I don't think you want to be given the bill for property damage."

"Will do. Let's go," said Yang, picking up Gobber who immediately proceeded to embrace her in a one-sided hug.

"I love you lass," said Gobber while Qrow loudly exclaimed 'found him!' and drawing attention from the other patrons in the bar as they made for the exit.

As they traversed Atlas Academy with Yang, Qrow and Gobber in hand on their way back to their assigned rooms, they came across a soldier.

"General Ironwood has ordered me to tell you that clothes for the concert at the Schnee manor are waiting in your rooms. When you're ready, he wants you to meet him in his office." said the soldier.

"Okay, give him our thanks, since we're kinda busy right now," said Yang, with Gobber holding Yang in a one-sided hug, while Hiccup carried Qrow with the man's left arm awkwardly slung over his left shoulder.

"Give them coffee. It will help sober them up." the soldier advised before turning and marching away.

On the way back to their respective room, they came across team CFVY, Cardin Winchester, Violet Peach, Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck.

"The prodigal son makes an appearance," Oobleck said dryly. "I see you are dealing with a drunk Qrow, miss Xiao Long. My condolences."

"I've had to deal with him before, but thanks Doctor Oobleck," replied Yang.

"I love you, lass," said Gobber.

"I know Gobber. You've told me that twice now," said Yang.

Coco, Velvet and Violet Peach each tried not to laugh at the scene in front of them.

"Wait, where's Nils? Everyone else is here."

"He moved to Patch with his adopted son. That reminds me, your father is asking about you, miss Xiao Long. He wants you to call him." said Professor Port.

"I'll do that later. Are you guys coming to Weiss's concert? She's going to be singing tonight."

"Not today Yang," said Coco. "We got here not too long ago and I for one am feeling lazy."

"Maybe another time," said Yatsuhashi.

"Alright. Well, I should go take care of Qrow here. See you guys later."

"Take care," said Violet Peach.

The group turned to leave, but not before Yang noticed Cardin look at Velvet for a long moment with an unreadable expression.

"What was that about?" asked Hiccup, when the group had retreated.

"Do you think Cardin has a thing for Velvet?" asked Yang.

"Maybe, but I can't tell for sure. I'm going to keep an eye on him."

"Well, you can do that later. I'd like to not have to carry Gobber over my shoulder. He's not exactly light."

"Let's go then."

* * *

Hiccup and Yang decided to place the drunken pair on the floor in Hiccup's room when they got there. They entered the room and found it empty.

Yang then took the pillow from Hiccup and Jaune's beds and placed them underneath Qrow and Gobber's heads.

"I guess I have to keep an eye on these two." grumbled Hiccup after watching Yang wink at him and leave.

After what felt like hours, Ren and Jaune returned to the room.

"Ready to go?" asked Hiccup, addressing Ren and Jaune, who arrived and sat on their respective bed, dressed in a suit that Ironwood had provided them.

Ren was holding a suit that was folded neatly in his arms.

"Yeah, just waiting for Pyrrha and Nora, and everyone else to get dressed," said Ren, tossing Hiccup the suit he was carrying.

"Alright, I'll go get ready then." Hiccup picked up the suit that had landed on his bed and proceeded to find a room to change into it.

Upon nearing his assigned room, Hiccup observed Yang, Pyrrha, Nora, Astrid and Ruby as they emerged from their room wearing their dresses.

Ren and Jaune were waiting for the girls as they stood across the hall in their suits.

They perked up when they noticed the group of five.

Pyrrha's dress covered her entire body, except for a slit at the bottom, allowing her to walk better and displaying her legs. Her dress was blood red.

Jaune was almost drooling at the sight and even Ren cheeks were tinged pink as he looked at Nora's pink dress.

"Get your mind out of the gutter you two," said Hiccup, his voice containing a teasing undertone, earning a laugh from Yang and causing them to blush further.

Everyone set off for Ironwood's office as the soldier had instructed when the time neared two o'clock in the afternoon. They were joined on the way there by team SSN.

"Good. You're all ready. But may I ask why most of you aren't bringing your weapons?" Ironwood asked after they entered his office.

"I still have my gauntlet," said Yang with her gauntlet on her bare arm.

"And I have my throwing knives," replied Hiccup, using his gloved hands to roll up his left trouser leg and reveal his prosthetic leg and knife holster.

"Not very effective if the White Fang were to attack," Ironwood commented. "Bring your weapons to me. I'll have them arranged to be brought in a case. It doesn't hurt to be prepared."

"With all due respect sir, we just want to have fun tonight. We don't want to always have to fight," said Yang.

"If you're sure about that…" Ironwood looked at everyone present in turn.

"I think we should listen to him, guys," said Jaune. "If the White Fang were able to sneak in here and stab me, what's going to stop them at this concert?"

"Fine, we'll do it," Yang grumbled after a long pause. "I still think we don't need it though."

"Meet me at the entrance with your weapons before we go," said Ironwood before the group left his office.

When they arrived at the entrance, they were greeted with the sight of Ironwood standing tall and five soldiers standing close to him, three on his left and two on his right, each with a steel case in hand.

Ironwood gestured to his left. "These three soldiers are carrying a case for your weapons. Put them in there so we can go. I'm sure you don't want to waste more time." he told them.

"What about the other two soldiers?" asked Ruby, eyeing the pair.

"They are carrying dust rounds for your weapons." came the reply.

Everyone then proceeded to place their weapons inside the three cases and the soldiers made their exit when they were ready.

"This is going to be exciting," squealed Ruby.

"Whoa, slow down there sis. You've already met Weiss before." pointed out Yang.

"I'm excited to see her again. Can you blame me?"

"With you waking me up, yes I can," muttered Hiccup.

"I didn't mean it." Ruby protested half-heartedly.

"You've done it twice Ruby. Don't do it again." Ruby pouted.

"Are you forgetting we have somewhere to go?" asked Ren with a raised eyebrow. "You two can argue later."

Hiccup and Ruby fell silent at that and they set off for the Schnee Manor with Ironwood.

* * *

The Schnee Manor was a huge white building. Heavy emphasis on the word huge.

There was a large gate with a path leading up to it and a small building which acted as a guard checkpoint was on one side of the path.

Two large trucks, painted white with the insignia of the Atlesian Military came to a stop at the gate.

A guard exited the checkpoint and approached the truck, proceeding to peer into the windows.

The guard looked through each one on both trucks, looking at everyone within. His eyes met General Ironwood, who was sitting in the passenger seat next to the driver in the first truck.

The guard gave a single nod in his direction before returning to the checkpoint.

The gate slid apart, half sliding to the left and the other half to the right, automatically.

The trucks drove past the checkpoint, coming to a stop in front of the entrance to the building itself, where five more guards stood.

These guards, like the one at the checkpoint, each wore a white and blue uniform and carried a shotgun that was strapped to their backs.

One guard broke away from the group of five, briefly peering into the truck and bending to look underneath.

He repeated the action with the second truck before he straightened up and opened the passenger side door for General Ironwood to get out, before proceeding to open the other doors for the rest of the passengers.

"This is where Weiss lives?" asked Hiccup, marvelling at the massive white building in front of him after climbing out of the truck.

Yang got out after him. "Seems like it."

Astrid and Ruby were next.

"Wow!" exclaimed Ruby, while Astrid stared at the building in awe.

"It's bigger than Stoick's house back on Berk."

"I think it's at least a quarter of the size of Berk. Easily twice as big as Stoick's house," said Hiccup.

Team JNPR and Team SSN were the last to get out, staying close to each other as they did so.

"Someone will probably recognise the invincible girl, Pyrrha. Are you up for this?" asked Hiccup.

"No, but I want to try anyway," replied Pyrrha.

"Invincible girl?" asked Astrid.

"Pyrrha is the best fighter here. There are stronger

Huntsmen and Huntresses out there though, like Qrow or Raven for example."

"I thought Yang was the best fighter."

"She's stronger, but Pyrrha is more skilled."

"I think I want to spar with her now."

"Hear that Pyrrha? You've got a challenger," said Hiccup, looking at her.

Pyrrha smiled. "I'd be happy to oblige later on."

"If you lot are done talking, then follow me." The guard from earlier said.

"Wait," said Ironwood to the guard. "There is one thing I would like to discuss with you."

"What is it, sir?" Ironwood approached and began to whisper in his ear.

"Really? Three crates?" asked the guard. Ironwood nodded as he straightened up and the guard sighed before approaching the other four guards who stood waiting at the entrance.

After a brief discussion, they opened the back door on both trucks and proceeded to carry a steel case each.

"Follow me everyone." sighed the guard from before as he held a case in his arms.

The guard then walked away and they all followed after him, with Hiccup, Pyrrha and Astrid feeling sheepish at being called out as they had.

Ironwood was in the lead, walking beside the guard as the two made small talk while the others trailed silently behind.

The guard led them past a staircase at the start of a large white and blue hallway. There was a pudgy man who was almost completely bald but had a thick brown moustache, waiting halfway along the hall.

"You can return to your post, Matthew. I'll take over from here." said the man. Matthew nodded at him before turning to Ironwood.

"I'll drop these off in the armoury upstairs," said Matthew before breaking away from the group and heading for the stairs behind them with the other four guards.

The pudgy man spoke up again to introduce himself. "My name is Klein Sieben. I am the head butler of the Schnee Manor. I wasn't expecting Ironwood to bring so many guests along for miss Schnee's concert, or arrive early. You're the first to arrive." said Klein. "Anyway, may I ask who are you all?"

Ironwood spoke up first. "They are former first years from Beacon Academy."

"Oh. May I be the first to offer my condolences for what happened. The attack on the Amity Colosseum was a great tragedy." said Klein, bowing his head slightly.

"Thanks, I guess…" said Yang.

"Anyway, I'm sure you don't want to be reminded of that event any further, so I'll show you the concert hall now," said Klein.

Klein then lead the large group to a very large room that was at the very end of the hallway and down a flight of stairs.

He opened the door to the room and waved them in. "This is the concert hall. Miss Schnee will be along shortly. Enjoy the concert everyone." Klein said before leaving after Pyrrha, who was the last to enter the hall.

The hall was huge, white and currently brightly lit. The group opted to sit in the third to last row of the hall, where they took up all of the seats in the row.

Hiccup scanned the room as people started to trickle in. Looking up, he noticed movement on the start of the balcony that was built in the upper right corner of the room and went around to the upper left corner.

Two figures walked onto the balcony and sat down.

Eventually, after what felt like hours, the doors to the room shut and the room began to dim.

Looking up again, Hiccup noticed another balcony below the first, directly above their heads where they were sitting.

"I think the concert is about to start now," said Hiccup just as the lights dimmed entirely and the room was plunged into darkness.

He was proven right a moment later when the stage at the front of the room lit up, revealing Weiss standing there in a pale blue and white dress.

She started to sing in the following moment.

* * *

A large man was sitting at the very last row in the now darkened hall.

He brought the scroll in his hand to his ear when Weiss stepped onto the stage and began to sing, so as not to be overheard by anyone.

"Be ready to move when I say so. It would be good of you to remember no killing this time, Taurus."

"Of course, Hazel," came Adam's reply. "It would also be good to not anger the new leader of the White Fang."

Hazel grunted. "Don't overstate your usefulness to Salem. You could be replaced as easily and as swiftly as you replaced Sienna Khan. You would do well to know your place." Hazel then hung up and proceeded to call someone else.

"Are you in position?"

"Yes, Hazel. Ready to broadcast live on your word," said Arthur Watts.

"Good. I expect to be ready here in less than thirty minutes," grunted Hazel.

"I'll be waiting then."

The call ended and Hazel resumed listening to the song being sung by the SDC heiress.

* * *

A/N: Things are obviously going to happen soon, but I wonder if anyone can figure out what exactly Hazel, Adam and Arthur are planning to do.

Until Next Time

Silvolde


	33. The Heiress Sings (Part Two)

A New World

Chapter 33: The Heiress Sings (Part Two)

A/N: The next chapter will involve quite a fair bit of work, so I probably won't be able to get it out as quickly as the more recent chapters that I have posted.

Also, I'm set to return to College soon, so more delays may occur. The end of the story isn't very far off, however. It should be finished by the end of September at the latest. Maybe it will come out a bit sooner. Who knows?

Anyway, let's begin.

* * *

"I'm not your pet, not another thing you own.

I was not born guilty of your crimes.

Your riches and your influence can't hold me anymore.

I won't be possessed,

burdened by your royal test.

I will not surrender.

This life is mine."

When her song came to an end, Weiss gave a bow before the audience burst into applause.

The lights started to gradually brighten up the room, allowing people's eyes to adjust easily.

She proceeded to look up to the balcony above the stage on her left where her father and brother were watching.

Jacques Schnee remained seated, not applauding, while Whitley Schnee stood, giving a slow-paced clap.

Weiss looked back at the audience, all still clapping in their seats. She turned and walked backstage, her feigned smile replaced with a frown.

"Does anyone think she seemed a bit sad just now?" asked Yang.

"Yeah," said Pyrrha. "I wouldn't be surprised if she hated singing."

"But why? She was so good!" Ruby didn't shout but received attention in the form of unhappy stares from the occupants of the surrounding rows of seats.

The girl slumped into her seat, suddenly nervous while trying to hide from view after her outburst.

"She rarely brought it up though remember? And she always seemed angrier when we asked any questions about it," said Yang.

Ruby shrugged. "I always thought that was Weiss being Weiss. Now I feel bad and I want to make it up to her."

"That's good, isn't it?" asked Hiccup.

"Yeah, the only problem is I have no idea how," grumbled Ruby.

"Well in the meantime, why don't we leave this concert hall? I've read the poster that Ruby got and found out there is a small art exhibition going on here. Maybe Weiss will show up there," suggested Ren.

Seeing nothing better to do, they all rose and walked out of the concert hall.

As they left, Ruby, who had run to the front of the group; passed a sign that gave directions to the art exhibition.

Entering the room, they found that it already contained a small crowd of various people. None of them noticed Ironwood silently slip away with his scroll pressed to his ear.

There were three large windows, with the glass stained blue. A piano stood in the corner of the room, playing soft notes all by itself.

A door off to the side opened and a group of waiters, each carrying martini glasses and other drinks on a tray, entered the room.

Scanning the room, Hiccup noticed a tall man on the far side, wearing an expensive-looking white business suit. He had white hair and a moustache that was the same colour.

He is conversing with another man in glasses and a grey-haired woman in a green dress.

Hiccup continues to watch the scene as the three of them laugh at something.

Weiss is behind her father, looking at the floor with her hands held primly behind her back. Her brother stood on the other side at a slightly further distance behind their father, only his gaze is directly on him.

Hiccup then looked away from the scene. "Well, I know where Weiss is. She looks bored right now. She doesn't want to be here, so how about we cheer her up?"

"Do you have a plan, Hiccup?" asked Yang.

"Yeah, we help her slip away for a bit. Maybe even have her bump into her former teammates at Beacon."

"I like that idea," said Ruby.

"We'll need to lure her closer though. I don't think she will leave the room by herself, or maybe she can't."

"Leave that to me," said Pyrrha. "I'll handle it."

"Alright then, let's get to it."

* * *

"That's precisely my point. We offer Faunus the same wages given to the rest of our mining staff. Their argument's completely invalid right out of the gate." her father said.

"Well, I think the bigger issue here…" said a nearby businessman.

"Ugh," Weiss muttered quietly as she listened to her father and his companions converse.

"…is our society as a whole."

"Why, you mean Atlas?" Jacques Schnee scoffed.

As they conversed, Weiss looked over to the largest painting on the wall on the other end of the room. It depicted Beacon Academy with its Cross Continental Transmit tower; which had Ozpin's office on top, standing undamaged.

The painting was placed between two others and sectioned off from the room with a railing made of red rope.

She continued to stare at the painting as a familiar redhead suddenly emerged from somewhere in the crowd, walked across the room and came to a stop in front of it. The girl then proceeded to admire the painting.

'Pyrrha?' Wondered Weiss. Shaking her head at the incredibly unlikely thought, she tuned into the conversation the nearby adults were having.

"Atlas, Mantle… You can't deny the economic disparity between the two." the businessman continued.

"I mean, what exactly are you suggesting?" another adult; a businesswoman in the group which consisted of three asked.

Weiss started to step towards the painting and the redheaded girl, curiosity getting the better of her, only to have her forearm grabbed by her father, who doesn't even turn around. Weiss halts, startled.

"I'm just saying I don't think it's necessarily an issue of compensation as much as it is one of opportunity…" the man droned on, with neither he nor the woman noticing Jacques action.

Jacques pulled Weiss back to him and turned to face her. "Where are you going?" he demanded.

Weiss quickly adopted a meek expression. "I'm… just a little thirsty." she lied.

"Sweetheart, we have people for that."

He let go of Weiss and began to raise his arm to call over a waiter. Weiss stopped him by grabbing his forearm, prompting a sideways glance from Whitley.

"What? No, I can get it. I'll be right back, I promise." said Weiss.

The two locked gazes as the conversation next to them continued.

"Look, no one asked them to move here." replied the woman.

"But companies like the SDC promised jobs." The man countered.

Jacques, deciding he had enough of his daughter for the moment, let Weiss go and turned back to his companions.

"I'm sorry, I tuned out for a second, sounds like I'm the good guy again?"

Jacques and the businesswoman shared a laugh. Weiss made her way across the room to look at the painting of Beacon Academy.

She discovered that the redhead was no longer in front of the painting. She looked around and saw her vanish into the crowd again before Weiss was anywhere near the painting but she continued walking over to it.

She had barely come to a stop in front of the red rope railing that guarded the painting when a boy approached and decided to speak to her.

"It's beautiful." said the boy before he paused "You two match."

Weiss stood with her arms crossed, her face adopting a cold expression."Yes, it's a lovely painting," muttered Weiss.

"So, that was my attempt at breaking the ice. How am I doing so far?" he asked, sounding hopeful.

Weiss sighed in barely concealed irritation. She hoped he would get the message that she wanted to be left alone. "You are leaving a lot to be desired."

"Well, I've always appreciated honesty." He offered Weiss his hand. "Henry Marigold."

Weiss turned her head to look at him. "Weiss Schnee." She lightly placed her fingers in his hand in a very loose handshake. Her skin crawled during it and felt the sudden urge to wash her hands.

"I know, I saw your performance. Obviously." He seemed nervous before he cleared his throat. "You were wonderful. And I promise I'm not just saying that 'cause you're pretty," said Henry.

Weiss turned her attention back to the painting with an eye roll while fighting the nausea that rose in her chest. A brief awkward silence developed between them when Weiss didn't reply to Henry's statement.

He coughed nervously again. "Honesty, remember? So, are you thinking about buying it?"

"No. I don't think so."

"Yeah, kinda pricey for a painting."

Weiss's next sentence came with annoyance audible in her voice. "It's to raise money."

"Oh really? For what?"

"For what?" She asked incredulously. She purposefully glanced at the plaque that was on a stand in front of the painting, with the following text displayed on it.

SHOW THE WORLD WE CARE

All proceeds go to the Kingdom of Vale.

"Heheh, I'll admit, I only come to these things for the food and drinks." He reached out and took a champagne flute as a waiter walked past nearby. "And the extraordinary company. Of course." As he sipped his drink, Weiss shifted her stance to face him, sending a glare towards Henry which somehow went unnoticed by him.

"So what, is it another Mantle fundraiser or something?"

"Get. Out." Weiss said shortly.

"What?" Henry asked with a slight laugh.

"Get out, or I will have security escort you out," she repeated.

"I'm sorry Weiss, is he bothering you?" a new voice asked.

Weiss and Henry turned around to see Pyrrha had posed the question, accompanied by Jaune.

They both gazed at Pyrrha in surprise, for different reasons. "You're Pyrrha Nikos. Hey, what do you say we ditch him and go on a date? My family is rich, they could pay you."

Weiss stared at Henry in complete disbelief.

"No thank you. I already have a boyfriend,"

"Oh really? Who?"

"Me," said Jaune.

"Him?" Henry scoffed, obviously unimpressed by the blonde. "You could do better."

"I doubt it. I'm sorry but goodbye." Pyrrha said.

"You know you don't have to be that polite all the time, Pyrrha," said Hiccup as he approached. "She did ask you to leave, however."

Weiss stared at Hiccup in disbelief while Henry scoffed. "Why would I listen to you?"

"Oh, it could be the fact that you're surrounded by two huntsmen and huntresses in training? I'd leave if I were you," said Hiccup.

"Especially since my girlfriend is one of the huntresses. She happens to be the strongest fighter here." Jaune added.

"Pfft, whatever," said Henry, finally obeying.

Weiss watched him walk away, and once he is gone, she turned back to the painting, crosses her arms and closes her eyes.

"You okay Weiss?" asked Hiccup.

"No, I'm not. I could do with getting some fresh air right about now. And you could start by explaining how and when you got here," said Weiss.

"That can come later. How about we get you away from here first?" Hiccup proposed.

"I would have already gone if I could leave, but I can't." came Weiss's reply.

"Well, what's stopping you from leaving?" asked Jaune.

"My father. He doesn't like it when I stray too far." Weiss rolled her eyes in irritation as she glanced in Jacques direction.

"He wants to keep an eye on you?" guessed Hiccup.

Weiss stared at him in disbelief.

"Past experiences." Hiccup said, answering her unspoken question. "I'll create a distraction and you slip away."

"What? No, Hiccup!" But Hiccup was already walking away.

"Don't worry Weiss," said Pyrrha, laying a hand on her shoulder.

Hiccup walked around the room in what appeared to be an aimless fashion. It did, however, bring him close to the path of an approaching waiter who eyed him warily before Hiccup ducked into the path of the waiter just as he was about to pass by and feigned falling to the ground.

The waiter had little time to react and tripped over him, spilling the drinks that he had been carrying on his tray.

"No, no, no! I asked for a double sundae! This is completely ruined now!" A businessman shouted as he witnessed the scene.

"I'm so sorry, sir." said the waiter as he got up and shot Hiccup a dark look.

"Get going Weiss or you'll miss your chance. Ruby and Yang are waiting for you upstairs," said Jaune.

Weiss looked away from the scene where her gaze had been transfixed and nodded in thanks at Jaune before making her exit and heading for the nearest staircase.

Weiss promised herself to make it up to Hiccup, Pyrrha and Jaune in some way. She owed them.

Reaching the stairs, she made her way to the next floor. Stepping onto the floor, she was greeted by a blur of rose petals that rushed towards her before they came to an abrupt stop in front of her.

Weiss blinked as some rose petals floated forward and landed in her hair. She reached up to brush them away but felt them vanish, shortly after making contact with her hand.

Weiss then felt arms embrace her in a tight hug. "It's so good to see you!" squealed Ruby. "Did you miss me?"

"Ruby, calm down," Yang spoke up from behind Ruby.

"Sorry," Ruby said quietly.

"Hey Weiss," greeted Yang after Ruby let go. "It's been a while. How are you holding up?"

"I have many questions. First of all, when did Hiccup come out of his coma?"

"Let's find an empty room to talk in. This will be a long story," said Yang.

"My room has a window and we should be undisturbed there. It's the next floor down." Yang and Ruby nodded and the three set off.

* * *

Back in the room with the paintings, Pyrrha and Jaune had met up with Ren and Nora and team SSN in the crowd.

Hiccup had been given a few tissues by another waiter to clean his suit as best as he could. He wiped it as dry as possible before meeting up with Pyrrha and the others.

"So I think that went well," said Hiccup when he reached them. He glanced over at Jacque, who currently seemed none the wiser.

"How did you know that Weiss didn't want to be here?" asked Jaune.

"Back home, my father was a pretty important person. He was the chief of the town, and as his son, I was expected to be next. The only problem is that I was the town pariah, and as a result, they tried to make me into someone I wasn't. I know Weiss didn't want to be there because I have been in the same position before." Replied Hiccup.

"Your father sounds like mine," said Pyrrha. Hiccup, the rest of team JNPR and team SSN all stared at her, making her flush in embarrassment.

"Full disclosure, that was my family as well. I come from a long line of some of the best warriors in Remnant - the Arc clan. Some of my sisters have also trained as huntresses and happen to be better fighters than I am," Jaune said with a sigh.

"So the three of us are from famous families who have high expectations, huh." Mused Hiccup. He then looked at Ren, Nora, Neptune, Sage and Scarlet. "What about you?"

Before anyone could reply to that question, the floor shook as a large explosion was heard and felt, coming from the floor below them. Predictably, everyone in the room immediately panicked, with quite a few screaming in terror.

Hiccup took out his scroll and dialled Yang's number.

"Hiccup? Did you feel the explosion too?" Hiccup had to press the scroll to his ear to hear anything.

"Yeah, I assume you're on the same floor as us?" Hiccup nearly shouted into the scroll, in order to be heard over the noise of the crowd.

"Yup."

"Good. we'll need you to help evacuate everyone here. I'm guessing it's the White Fang."

"I'll get Ruby to get our weapons then and be able to help soon," said Yang before she hung up.

"Has anyone seen Ironwood around?" asked Jaune, scanning the room. "We need our weapons now and he might know where the armoury is."

"Ruby is already looking for them. We should help evacuate everyone… any ideas on how to do that?" asked Hiccup.

"First, get everyone to calm down. We'll need our weapons for that, so we have to wait."

They didn't have to wait long, as Ruby burst into the room with a steel case in her arms. She dumped it at Hiccup's feet before running out of the room again.

Upon opening the case, they found Hiccup's axes and throwing knives. After taking them out of the case, they found a second layer with Nora's grenade launcher/hammer in its compact form, beside Ren's bladed full auto pistols.

The next layer had Pyrrha's sword, javelin and rifle mechashift weapon as well as her small shield.

The final two layers had Hiccup and Jaune's shields and Jaune's sword at the very bottom of the case.

The second case had Sage, Scarlet and Neptune's weapons, while the third crate had Ruby's sniper scythe and Yang's shotgun gauntlets on a layer each, as well as various dust rounds in the three layers below the weapons.

Yang and Ruby arrived with Weiss, who already had her weapon in hand. He waited for everyone to get ready before speaking up again. "Alright, let's get everyone to safety-"

Hiccup was cut off by the sound of glass shattering, as three White Fang goons rappelled through two of the three windows in the room and two more ran through the door behind them, going unnoticed by the group who were focused on the two broken windows.

They grabbed Weiss from behind amid louder screams, startling the distracted girl who gave a surprised cry while her weapon slipped from her fingers.

She had no time to retrieve it before they held her in front of them as a hostage.

"It seems we can never get to have a break from it all." Sighed Hiccup, pointing his axes at the two goons who were holding her hostage, along with the others who were nearby.

"I'm feeling generous today," Adam's voice could be heard as the goons stepped aside and Adam stepped through the door into the room. He brushed past Hiccup and the others before coming to a stop in the middle of the room.

Jacques Schnee, Whitley Schnee and the other occupants of the room, as well as the waiters, were herded to the side of the room that was the furthest from where the paintings stood and made to sit down by the three goons who had entered via the windows.

"If you let us leave with Weiss Schnee, I'll let the rest of you live." Adam's threat was clear, Weiss would be killed.

"That's not going to happen, Adam," said Yang. "Let me make you a deal. You fight us. If I win, you leave Weiss unharmed. I do believe we have unfinished business from Beacon."

Adam smirked behind his mask. "I don't have any reason to accept this deal, but I'll humour you today since you seem to want to die."

"You don't have to do this Yang," Ruby and Jaune said in unison.

"She, unfortunately, has no choice," said Hiccup before stepping closer to her. "Do you want us to fight him with you?"

"No, this is something I want to do alone," said Yang.

"Then I'm coming with you." Pyrrha.

"Did you not hear me? I said-"

"I heard you Yang, but it wasn't a request. I'm telling you what I'm going to do."

A small smile formed on Yang's face. "Then let's do it."

The pair then stepped towards Adam, with neither Yang or Pyrrha noticing a Raven land on the sil of the one window out of three that remained unbroken behind Adam, as both focused solely on the faunus.

"Too scared to fight me on your own?" sneered Adam. "No matter, the great Pyrrha Nikos will die too."

Pyrrha was the first to attack, firing her weapon in its rifle form at Adam.

He responded by bringing his sword up to absorb the gunfire. His sword glowed a faint red for a moment before going dim once again.

Adam made his move, firing his sword out of its sheath. The sword sailed towards Pyrrha's head, only to be deflected by her shield.

Yang then moved, aiming a punch at his side with her gauntlet firing a shot when she saw he was left open. The blow connected, and he was sent skidding across the floor and coming to a stop near Jacque and the other guests.

Getting back up with a snarl, he narrowly avoided Pyrrha's spear before lunging forward to reach his sword and scooping it up in one fluid motion.

He turned and leapt back, just in time to avoid another punch from Yang while Pyrrha's spear sailed back to her hand as she used her semblance.

"Her semblance lets her pick up metal objects, doesn't it?" Hiccup asked Jaune.

"How'd you know?" asked Jaune.

"Well I know she's not using gravity dust, so it must be her semblance," said Hiccup before both continued to watch the fight.

Yang cocked a fist back to punch Adam again, only this time he brought his sword up, making her punch it with a shotgun blast from her gauntlet.

His mask started to glow red, while the surroundings faded to black.

"Get back Pyrrha! That's his semblance!" shouted Yang.

They both backed away, just in time to avoid a sword swipe from Adam.

Adam redirected the swipe mid-swing to cut through the floor, going through it like butter and leaving a gash in its wake before the surroundings gained their normal colours once again.

Yang and Pyrrha both lunged, taking advantage of his opening by delivering as many blows as they could, to deplete his aura.

They landed a blow each, Yang with a punch using her weapon and assisted by her semblance, while Pyrrha's sword connected with his side.

Their blows dropped his aura by some amount before he responded by slashing at their legs, forcing them to stop fighting and jump out of the way.

Adam returned his sword to its sheath before proceeding to fire out of its sheath and into the air. He then jumped up and redirected the sword in the direction of Yang's head with a kick.

He followed up with a kick at Pyrrha's middle while Yang caught his sword. She threw it at him, aiming for his head before following up with a punch directed at his torso.

He caught the sword and held it up in front of him, just in time to absorb the blast from Yang's gauntlet with it.

Pyrrha threw her weapon in spear form at Adam, but it was simply batted aside before she retrieved it with her semblance again, depleting some more of her aura.

Pyrrha then let loose more shots from her rifle and Adam spun his sword to deflect the bullets.

A few shots were absorbed by the sword, which glowed a faint red, something Yang noticed while she stood closer to him than Pyrrha; just outside the reach of his sword.

She retreated further as a thought came to her.

'I think he absorbs gunfire to charge up his semblance.' Her theory was proved correct when his mask started to glow red again.

"Pyrrha!" Yang warned, quickly stepping back a few more steps.

Pyrrha ignored Yang, opting to bring her shield up while reinforcing it with aura as she met Adam's slash head-on.

Her aura took the full force of the slash, causing it to shatter entirely and forcing the girl to her knees.

Yang ran over and stood next to Pyrrha. "That was a dumb move on my part. I think he's too strong for you to beat him."

"Kinda figured Pyrrha. Seems like we have to let Weiss go with them," Yang said quietly before raising her voice so that everyone in the room could hear her. "You win Adam. We can't beat you. We'll let you keep Weiss, for now."

"A wise choice," nodded Adam.

"No, Yang, you can't! They're murderers! They killed my sister without a second thought!" shouted Weiss.

Yang turned to face her, face twisted in a mournful expression. "I'm sorry Weiss, but I can't let anyone else die. We'll find you eventually, just…" Yang's voice hitched as she fought back tears, knowing they could kill Weiss without a second thought. "Just try and wait for us to get there."

She turned around to look at Adam again. "Do what you're going to do."

"Alright," Adam nodded at the two goons who stood near Weiss and were holding her hostage. They nodded in turn and shoved her forward, past Hiccup and the others and towards Adam.

"I'll be taking my leave now," said Adam. He grabbed Weiss and made his way to the broken windows.

He handed her a rope that remained from when the three White Fang goons had rappelled into the room.

She glared at him, only to receive a shove that sent her tumbling through the window and onto the snow on the ground below.

Adam then grabbed the rope she had used and climbed down after her, with the two goons who had held her hostage, following after them.

The three goons who stood near the larger group of hostages levelled their weapons at them and fired. They shot at the people on either end of the group and worked inwards, killing two at a time until all of them lay dead on the white floor.

Hiccup and the others stared in horror at the scene, with the process taking mere seconds to complete, leaving them with little time to do anything.

"We had a deal! Adam said you would let them go unharmed." Yang roared, her eyes turning red.

"He did but we didn't," One bold goon said simply. "We did not need Jacques Schnee or any of his associates alive. We don't need his daughter alive either." the goon added before pointing his sword at Weiss.

Yang let out a snarl in the goon's direction, lunging towards him with her arm cocked back, ready to throw a punch.

The goon levelled his pistol at her, firing at her head in an attempt to make the enraged fighter back off.

Yang had been expecting the action from the goon and ducked in response, sliding forward on her knees with the momentum before her fist connected with his stomach.

The goon was knocked down, just as Hiccup, Ren, Weiss, Pyrrha, Yang, Nora and everyone else in their group, levelled their weapons at the two goons who remained standing, daring them to make a move while the third got to his feet.

"We'll be leaving now," said Yang. "If any of you is dumb enough to try and fight us, we won't go easy on you."

They all then headed for the hallway to leave the building.

"What should we do sir?" the three goons asked Adam, calling down to him through the window. "Should we go after them?"

"No," Adam replied, much to their surprise. "An associate of mine has something planned for them. We will return to base and pick off the few who survive, later on."

As the group of huntsmen and huntresses in training neared the exit, it was opened from the outside by Mathew, the guard from before. The head butler, Klein Sieben, was also with him.

Mathew had his shotgun in his arms and was looking around, anxiously. His blue and white uniform was stained red with blood that slowly spread from a bullet hole in his chest.

The other guards along with the bodies of some white Fang lay still on the ground next to a truck that had rammed the gate behind him and Klein.

Adam was flanked by the two goons who had followed him as they made their way to the truck in question with Weiss in hand.

They got in, waiting for the three other goons to get there before driving off.

"How did you guys survive the White Fang?" Nora asked the question that everyone was thinking about.

Matthew looked down at his chest. "You think I survived? I'm bleeding out. I'll be dead any minute now."

"He saved my life. I would be dead if not for him," added Klein.

"Can we please stop talking about death?" pleaded Ruby nodded in agreement. "I've seen enough for a lifetime."

"You and me both sis," agreed Yang. "How are you holding up, Pyrrha?"

"Okay, but I'll need to wait for my aura to regenerate again."

"I'm going to ask Ironwood where he went after all this," muttered Hiccup.

As if his name had summoned him, Hiccup's scroll started to ring with a call from the man in question.

"Where are you Ironwood?" asked Hiccup after taking out his scroll to answer the call.

"Currently busy. I'm preparing Atlas Academy and the military for that incoming Grimm swarm."

"What Grimm swarm?"

"Look at the horizon," said Ironwood.

Hiccup did so and saw a massive cloud of black and white, looming over the horizon and almost blotting out the setting sun.

"I would recommend that you get here as soon as you can. There should be trucks waiting for you all." Hiccup paused and looked around, seeing the trucks they had arrived in, waiting on his left with the drivers looking quite bored.

"I was picked up by a bullhead piloted by my men, in case you ask." Ironwood continued.

"I wasn't going to. I'll get back with the others as soon as possible now."

"Good luck," said Ironwood before he hung up.

"We need to go now, guys. Everyone get in the trucks." urged Hiccup

"Whoa, what's the rush for Hiccup?" asked Yang.

"Look at the horizon everyone." They did so before they all ran towards the trucks without speaking further.

Hiccup then turned to Klein. "Klein was it?" the man nodded. "You should come with us." Hiccup told him.

"That seems wise, master…?" Klein prompted.

"Hiccup. Just call me Hiccup. None of this master stuff." Klein chuckled and nodded in response before following after the others.

Hiccup then looked at Matthew. "Think you can make it back to Atlas Academy?"

The guard shook his head. "I'd be gone long before you arrived. Leave me here. I'll just slow you down."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, go back to Atlas Academy. K-kill the Grimm. G-good luck." Matthew stuttered before the guard collapsed and lay still, finally succumbing to the wound in his chest.

Hiccup gave the man a final glance before climbing into the second truck and the two vehicles set off for the Academy, quickly accelerating to top speed.

* * *

A/N: I wonder what you thought of that. Let me know in a review.

Until Next Time

Silvolde


	34. The Battle For Atlas

A New World

Chapter 34: The Battle For Atlas

* * *

Snow, a truck, and even more snow, along with the occasional pine tree. This is what Raven saw down below as she followed the truck in question. A few minutes passed before the truck began to slow and drove to the edge of the road before stopping completely. Five White Fang goons exited the truck, followed by Weiss and Raven's target who gave the girl a rough shove forward.

She descended, landing between Weiss and Adam as she transformed from her raven form back into her human form and kicking Adam aside. Raven then unsheathed her sword and ran at the nearest goon, slashing at his torso as she moved. She was too fast for him to react, and the goon was left with a large cut in his chest in the next moment.

The next three goons were cut down just as quickly. The last one at least had time to bring his weapon to bear, but couldn't get a shot off before he was also cut down.

She turned and was forced to parry a slash from Adam when he finally made a move.

Raven kicked him away before glancing at Weiss.

"Pretty weak to get yourself captured so easily." Sneered Raven, glancing at Adam and avoiding a slash again before the maiden swiped one of her signature red portals into existence with her sword.

"Go back to Atlas Academy, where you're wanted." Raven pointed at the portal with her sword before avoiding another slash from Adam.

Weiss nodded before running for the portal and making her exit.

"Now we can fight for real. Are you ready to die, Adam Taurus?"

"I won't die. I'm the strongest fighter in the White Fang."

"Let's see, shall we? The strong survive, the weak die, after all." Raven didn't wait for a response before her eyes sprouted flames and she let loose an icy blast at her opponent, quickly following up with a kick that was directed at his legs.

* * *

The two trucks came to a stop a fair distance from Atlas Academy. The first thing Hiccup noticed, along with the others as they got out of the trucks, was the sheer amount of soldiers and engineers who were moving between Atlas Academy and the area in front of the school.

The area in question had been turned into an improvised airstrip. It was filled to the brim with airships, some of which were taking off, heading for the large flagships that filled the skies above their heads, while the rest were being filled with ammunition and fuel by the soldiers and engineers respectively.

In addition to all of this, robots that were armed with guns were patrolling the area.

"I hope they don't go bad again," said Yang, eyeing the robots warily as the group approached the academy.

"Those were the robots that went out of control?" asked Hiccup.

"Yeah, they turned red and started shooting at us. It was kinda scary," said Ruby.

"We should get inside now though. I think we should let Ironwood know we're here." Ren commented before anyone could reply to Ruby.

Entering the school, the group came across the general in question, who was busy giving orders to any soldier who approached him. Doctor Oobleck and Professor Port stood nearby, along with team CFVY.

Oscar also stood nearby, cane in hand, receiving confused glances from any soldier who noticed the young boy, as they wondered where he had come from.

Nearing the man, the group waited patiently until he addressed them.

"You're here. Good. How was the party?"

Yang looked down. "Weiss was taken hostage by the White Fang." Yang then met his gaze, her eyes resolute. "When we're done here, I'm going after them."

"I will offer any help you need when the time comes," promised Ironwood.

"Since Salem is sending the Grimm here, she will likely have people going for the vault under the school. I think some of you should guard it." Ozpin interjected as he approached. "It's up to you to pick who goes there."

"Some of you may need to help Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck. They will be fighting the Grimm alongside the military and the local Huntsmen, while team CFVY will be coming with you to the vault," added Ironwood.

"What will you two be doing?" asked Hiccup.

"I will be fighting my old friend, Lionheart if I get the chance," Ozpin muttered darkly.

"I will be helping Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck to direct the military if need be," said Ironwood. "You should choose who defends the vault now." he then added.

The group huddled together to discuss the matter.

"I think Ruby should go there. She's the fastest, so she can get help if we need it." Hiccup proposed.

"I'm going too. Someone needs to protect my little sister. It might as well be me." said Yang, her tone cheerful, but Hiccup and Ruby both knew she was anxious, though she hid it well.

"Yaaang! Please stop!" Ruby begged with a pout as Yang proceeded to look down at Ruby, ruffling her hair as she did so. Ruby fell silent after a moment however, knowing why her sister was doing it.

"I'm going too. One of Salem's people was powerful enough to kill Ozpin, so you'll need me there," said Pyrrha.

"No, Pyrrha. We all saw you take a heavy hit from Adam's semblance. Your aura is still regenerating from it. I won't let you go." protested Jaune, his voice anxious.

"I'm going too. You should as well Jaune, to keep an eye on Pyrrha," suggested Hiccup.

"I'm fine, guys," stated Pyrrha, giving a half-hearted protest.

"Do you want us to make sure you don't fight at all?" asked Nora. "You're our teammate, and we don't want you gone. Someone has to keep our fearless leader happy." grinned Nora, although she didn't quite as cheerful and energetic as usual.

"Alright, I'll let them come with me," said Pyrrha, giving in with a small wistful smile on her face.

"What about us?" Neptune asked, gesturing to himself, Sage, Scarlet, Astrid and Klein.

"Neptune, Sage and Scarlet can come. You can't Klein unless you know how to fight on huntsman level. Do you?" asked Hiccup.

"I don't," confirmed Klein. "I'm just a butler like I said."

"Alright, you might want to sit this one out," said Jaune.

"I think that would be for the best," said Klein with a nod before he wandered off.

"What about me?" asked Astrid.

"I already have a job for you, Miss Hofferson," said Ironwood.

"Really? What?" asked Astrid.

"We think you would be best at supplying ammunition to anyone who needs it. Cardin Winchester, Violet Peach and Gobber will be doing the same job as well, Miss Hofferson," Ozpin chimed in.

"That's fine with me. It's almost like my old job on Berk," said Astrid.

"Excellent. Have you decided who will guard the vault?" Ironwood asked Hiccup.

"Yang, Ruby, Jaune, Pyrrha and myself along with Neptune, Sage and Scarlet will guard the vault," Hiccup announced to the pair.

"What about Miss Valkyrie and Master Ren? Where will they go?" asked Ozpin.

"They can decide for themselves, but maybe they can help Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck deal with the Grimm." Suggested Hiccup.

"If they're needed, I'll tell them. Which brings me to a way for everyone to communicate with each other without needing a scroll," said Ironwood before he reached into one of his coat pockets and brought out twenty of some small, oddly shaped objects. He then motioned for Hiccup to hold out his hand before he gave them to him.

"What are these?" asked Hiccup, staring at the strange-looking objects in his palm.

"Those are radio earpieces. You place them in your ear and you talk normally. They allow you to be heard by everyone else who is wearing one of them," explained Ironwood.

"That's useful. I'll give them to the others and let you know if Nora and Ren decide to help Oobleck and Port."

"Nora, Ren. Will you be coming to the vault with us? Because you could help Oobleck and Port deal with the Grimm,"

"We already decided to help them," said Nora. "Ren and I will handle it." Ren nodded, agreeing to Nora's statement.

"Okay, but before you go to help them, you should have one of these earpieces that Ironwood gave me just now," said Hiccup before he proceeded to grab the attention of the rest of the group and show them the radio earpieces. "These will let us talk without using a scroll apparently,"

Each person in the group took one and placed their earpiece in their left or right ear at will.

"Is there one left for me?" asked Qrow as he approached, emerging from the hallway that lead to the assigned rooms of the group.

"Finally out of your drunken sleep, Qrow?" asked Hiccup, while Qrow came to a stop in front of him and plucked one of the remaining earpieces from his hand.

"Clearly I am now. But I can fix that," Qrow proceeded to reach for the flask in his breast pocket, opened it and took a swig.

"There's a Grimm swarm about to reach Atlas Academy any minute now. You think that's a good idea, Uncle Qrow?" asked Yang.

"You're talking to a guy who always fights while drunk. I can handle it. You should be careful yourself, firecracker. You're now down an arm after all," Qrow teased.

"Can we get going now?" asked Ren. "Grimm swarm is on its way like Yang said. We should probably be ready for it,"

"Agreed," Hiccup and Jaune replied in unison before Jaune stared at Hiccup. "Is this going to become a regular thing for you?"

"Maybe," shrugged Hiccup before he walked over to Ironwood. "We're ready to go to the vault now. Ren and Nora have already decided to help Port and Oobleck."

"Good." Ironwood gave him a key card. "You'll need this to open the passageway to the vault. The path there is fairly big, certainly big enough for fighting. Go to my office to get to the vault, which is beneath my desk there. Good luck."

"You as well Ironwood," Hiccup turned to the others before a thought came to him and he looked at Ironwood again. "You might want to keep Qrow with you, in case the scorpion faunus that Raven mentioned, shows up. He must be fast if even Raven can get stung by him."

Ironwood glanced at Qrow. "Can't hurt to be prepared," he mused. "Send him here before you go to the vault."

"Will do," Hiccup replied.

* * *

Three figures disguised as soldiers stood unnoticed, with their visors down, concealing their faces as the group they were focussed on finally started to move.

The auburn-haired boy they were most focused on, talked briefly with an older grey-haired man that looked familiar to them, after speaking to General Ironwood himself once more.

The older man then approached the general before the boy motioned for the group to follow him and set off as one, but not before four extra people joined the already fairly big group. A girl with long blond hair and a prosthetic arm, fell into step beside the boy, on his right. Another blonde with an axe on her back did the same as the first girl, but on his left instead.

"Finally!" exclaimed Emerald, turning before she put her visor up along with her companions. "I was starting to think they would never leave."

"What do you think they were talking about?" asked Mercury.

"Likely preparing for the incoming assault from Salem. It won't go well for them," said Cinder.

"They could be going for the vault," replied Mercury.

"Are you scared?" a smug Emerald asked, only to receive a glare from Mercury in return.

"Don't worry Mercury. They will soon be distracted by our associate Hazel when the General inevitably calls them back to help him," said Cinder, sounding confident. "Follow them. They seem to be heading in the direction of the vault." Cinder ordered Emerald and Mercury.

"Alright."

"Got it." Came their replies before they set off, with Cinder trailing closely behind her companions.

The group they were trailing walked into a hallway. The hallway split off after a while, with signs for the Headmaster's office and the infirmary section on the left, a bar and cafeteria on the right and dorms and classrooms straight ahead.

The group went left, heading for the Headmaster's office.

* * *

"Do you hear footsteps following us?" Hiccup asked Jaune, who was behind him, as they neared Ironwood's office.

"Yeah, who do you think is following us?" asked Jaune.

"It's probably some people who work for Salem. If it is, they might wait for us to open the vault before attacking, since they're here for the relic. Tell Neptune, Sage, Scarlet and team CFVY to get ready."

Jaune looked back at them as they followed along behind himself and Pyrrha. "No need, they're already ready," came his reply.

"Did you forget that we can hear what you say, Hiccup?" asked Coco, from the rear of the group. "You had Neptune pass me and my team, earpieces remember?"

"I'm not used to these things guys. This is the first time I've used anything like this. Two years ago, I had never seen a scroll. Anyway, let's stay focused. We're almost there."

The group fell silent as they reached the door to Ironwood's office. Hiccup opened it and went inside.

The trio that was following, stopped walking on Cinder's instruction and waited.

A few moments later, the group of three heard the sound of a wooden desk being moved aside, followed by a slab of what sounded like stone sliding into position.

They waited for a minute before stepping out of their borrowed Atlas soldier uniforms and venturing forth into the office. The room was empty, with the desk pressed up against a wall. There was a circular shield propped up against the desk and a square hole in the floor that ended up being hidden underneath the desk when the desk was in its usual position.

It was quite dark in the hole, but Cinder could see the faint outline of a metal ladder, as well as light at the very bottom, upon looking down.

"Ready your weapons. We're going down there," Cinder then proceeded to climb down.

Reaching the bottom, the three found themselves in a big cavern, with the vault itself at the far end.

What Cinder focused on, however, was the fact that the group had spread out in a line facing them, with a multitude of weapons drawn and trained on the three intruders.

They had known that they were being followed and were prepared to fight, Cinder realised.

She also knew would need to be careful. Even with the fall maiden's powers, she should still lose against this many huntsman and huntresses, especially if they fought her together well.

The auburn-haired boy chose this moment to speak up. "Drop your weapons and surrender. You won't find what you're looking for here."

Cinder smirked at the obvious bluff. "What makes you sure about that?"

"You're welcome to look for the relic. The vault is empty, we've made sure of that."

Cinder gazed at the boy's face for any sign of deception but found none. Wait, that couldn't be true! He must be lying!

* * *

Hiccup gazed at the woman, who seemed increasingly distressed at what he had said.

"See for yourself," said Yang gesturing to the vault behind them, while still staring intently at the woman before the group.

"This has to be a trick!" The woman roared. "Move aside, I'll see for myself!"

The group parted as the woman strode forward, with her two companions, one female with green hair and one male with silver hair, looking anxious and uncaring at their companion's emotional state, respectively.

Hiccup turned to look at the raven-haired woman with yellow eyes, just as she let loose fire at the vault's door.

The door to the vault began to fold up, passing through each side of the frame until it reached the top of the frame and disappeared from view.

The woman quickly stepped forward to explore, but it was just like Hiccup had said. The vault was devoid of any relic no matter how hard she looked.

The woman's blood boiled in raw fury while flames enveloped her form and she let out an ear-splitting roar, launching herself at Hiccup as she performed the action.

She used her maiden powers to propel herself headfirst through the air toward Hiccup, with flames erupting from her feet, not unlike a rocket. Her eyes aflame as she glared at the object of her hatred.

She landed in front of Hiccup and let loose a pair of flame blasts before she lunged at him, ignoring everyone else as she did so.

Hiccup dodged her first blast, but the second hit him head-on when he looked up again, depleting his aura a little bit. Getting up, he had to duck once again as she swiped at his head with a sword that she had created with her maiden powers.

Jaune then responded by swiping at Cinder's back, landing a hit and giving Hiccup time to draw his axes.

Hiccup fired a shot at the woman, depleting a fraction of her aura as she focused on Jaune. He then followed up with a swipe at her head.

There was a gunshot that hit Hiccup, fired by one of the woman's companions before Yang and Ruby were on them.

Yang responded by opening fire at the green-haired girl with her shotgun gauntlets and Ruby assumed her rose petal form to run forward and kick at the silver-haired boy.

Pyrrha was the next opponent to make a move, firing at the woman with her weapon in rifle form. The woman's aura remained mostly intact, with most of the shots that were fired at her being blocked by her maiden powers as she held her hand up to stop them.

The few that did reach her aura made her hiss in pain before everyone's earpiece crackled to life.

"I would like Qrow, team CFVY and Neptune, Sage and Scarlet to help out over here. More opponents are making their move. Get here as soon as you can," said Ironwood before each earpiece fell silent again.

The people who were mentioned made for the exit of the cavern while the fights within continued.

Emerald fired a few shots at those who were leaving, aiming for no one in particular. Two shots from Yang to her aura brought her attention away from them, however, all the while Mercury dodged a shot from Crescent Rose.

Taking advantage of the brief pause in the fight, Cinder lunged at Pyrrha in the same fashion that she had lunged towards Hiccup.

Getting up close, she directed several fire blasts in quick succession at Pyrrha.

Pyrrha managed to evade the first three successfully, only to be hit by the fourth and have her aura shatter for the second time that day.

"You… you went into a fight without waiting for your aura to regenerate?" asked Cinder.

"No matter," Cinder dropped the question as she prepared to fire the killing blow. She wasn't able to finish the action as Hiccup and Jaune rushed her, Hiccup coming from behind, on the left and Jaune on the right.

Cinder flew out of the way, literally, mere moments before a pair of axes and a sword would have reduced her aura further.

Landing further away, she had to contend with even more gunfire from Pyrrha and one of Hiccup's axes, glowing purple slightly as it sailed towards her head.

She conjured a pair of swords with her maiden powers before knocking the axe aside, allowing Cinder to focus on blocking the remaining gunfire from Pyrrha.

There was a click, as Pyrrha's magazine of ammo in her gun run out. Cinder flew at Pyrrha, intending to deal the killing blow to the girl who brought up her shield in response.

Jaune and Hiccup arrived at the same time as Cinder, with the former bringing his sword in a downward arc this time, while the latter through his other axe at Cinder before retrieving his other axe via his gravity dust gloves.

Cinder ducked to avoid Hiccup's axe before bringing up her conjured swords to meet Jaune's sword before pushing him back a step.

She threw one of her swords at Jaune before letting loose a fireball in Pyrrha's direction, only for her aura to shatter as Hiccup and Jaune both landed a successful hit on Cinder.

Cinder collapsed to her knees, just in time to receive a familiar axe to the back.

Hiccup and Jaune looked over in the direction the axe had come from, to see Astrid approaching.

Hiccup and Jaune silently stared at her for a moment. "What? I had to do something. I haven't done anything until now," Astrid.

"Great timing, Milady," said Hiccup.

"Good thing I came here when I did, huh?" she grinned.

"Don't let it go to your head, Astrid," an amused Hiccup replied.

Jaune then suddenly remembered Pyrrha aura was gone and she had taken a fireball from Cinder. He ran over to see her as soon as the thought came to him.

Emerald, who at that moment was in the process of using her semblance to make an illusion of Hiccup appear to Yang to distract her from their fight, looked over at Cinder as she noticed that she was bleeding out with an axe embedded in her back. This caused the illusion to disappear as she was distracted by the emotions swirling in her chest at the sight.

Arslan, the leader of team ABRN, was strolling through the town of Mistral when her eyes sported flames while she felt her body temperature suddenly rise for a brief moment before both characteristics of her newly received maiden powers disappeared again.

Arslan looked around, but thankfully nobody nearby seemed to have noticed, with the people closest to her occupied by their scrolls or in a conversation, while those furthest away were too far off to see anything out of the ordinary happen, if they paid attention at all.

* * *

After the group had left for the vault, Ironwood turned to Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck.

"I want you to make sure that no Grimm reach Atlas Academy. My men have already been ordered to help you, so do everything you can to push the Grimm back. I intend for Atlas Academy to be a safe zone."

"Understood," said Port.

"Yes, yes. We should get going. No sense in waiting any longer," Oobleck agreed.

Ironwood nodded, and the pair left with Nora and Ren.

"When do you think the rest of Salem's generals will arrive?" asked Ozpin, as he had stood beside him in silence while he addressed Port and Oobleck.

"I think they will make a move while the Atlas Military is occupied with the Grimm. They most likely expect me to be leading them."

"That does sound like you, friend. Are you going to tell the others about that video that was uploaded to the CCT earlier today? The Atlas Council will likely be after your head soon after the Grimm has been dealt with."

"No, it has nothing to do with them. If Arthur Watts intends to have me removed as head of the Atlas Council, even though the video was made just to increase negative emotions and attract more Grimm, I'll deal with the consequences when they arise by myself."

"Hmm," Ozpin mused but didn't say anything else on the matter. "Shall we await our opponents outside?" he asked instead, opting to move on.

"Yes, Let's see who we'll be up against."

They stepped outside, where they were welcomed by the roar of the various airships ascending from the airstrip outside the Academy; taking to the skies to meet the Grimm swarm that was mere moments away from reaching them.

When the airstrip was empty, a scorpion faunus, a huge man and two more normal-sized figures standing next to the man, one a lion faunus and the other a man with a thick moustache, could be seen standing in the distance on the edge of the airstrip.

Ironwood took a spare radio earpiece out of his pocket.

"I would like Qrow, team CFVY and Neptune, Sage and Scarlet to help out over here. More opponents are making their move. Get here as soon as you can," said Ironwood before taking his earpiece out of his ear and putting it away again.

Ironwood and Ozpin then waited for Tyrian, Hazel, Arthur Watts and Leonardo Lionheart to approach them.

Qrow, Team CFVY and Neptune, Sage and Scarlet arrived just as their four opponents reached them.

Tyrian looked at everyone with an unsettling expression before speaking.

"My my, how many obstacles stand in the way of the goddess!" He said with a gasp. "Tut-tut everyone!" before grinning in the same unsettling manner as before.

"I take it you've seen the video that was uploaded to the CCT, concerning you," said a smug Arthur Watts.

"I did," Ironwood nodded, not looking even slightly angry as a result, which surprised the man.

"Give us the relics you have and we can be on our way. You can focus on the Grimm after that," said Hazel.

"No can do," said Qrow. "They've been placed far from here. The vault is empty."

"A pity. I suppose we have no chance but to fight you then," said Arthur Watts.

"Took the words right out of my mouth. Let's get started," said Qrow, before rushing Tyrian as he drew his weapon.

Tyrian ran at Qrow in turn, with Hazel, Arthur Watts and Lionheart stepping aside as their fight began.

Ironwood and Ozpin followed suit, the former shooting at Arthur with his revolver and Ozpin swinging his cane at Lionheart.

Hazel was left in the middle, with Qrow and Tyrian fighting on his right, and Arthur and Lionheart fighting Ironwood and the small boy on his left.

He didn't know who the boy was, but he seemed adept with the cane he was wielding.

Hazel opted to ignore the boy as he focused on team CFVY and Sage, Scarlet and Neptune, who remained.

"I assume you seven will also fight me," grunted Hazel as he cracked his neck, followed by his knuckles. He then took off his coat and reached into the pouches that were attached to the thighs of his trousers.

His seven opponents watched as he took two lightning dust crystals, one from each pouch, and shoved them into his arms.

Lighting flowed up his arms and towards his eyes, passing his throat and making Hazel sound hoarse as he gave a roar and leapt forward.

All seven people immediately separated as he landed, with Neptune firing the first few shots and Yatsuhashi swiping at the man.

In response, Hazel grabbed Yatsuhashi's sword and tore it from his grasp while ignoring Neptune's gunfire for the moment.

He then grabbed Yatsuhashi and delivered a punch to his torso, the blow leaving a sizeable dent in his armour.

At this, Coco opened fire, reducing his aura as Fox ran to scoop up Yatsuhashi's sword and Velvet's weapon created a hard light version of Coco's gun before she followed suit and took some of his aura away as she fired at him.

Hazel tossed Yatsuhashi aside before advancing on Coco and Velvet, even as her weapon changed to Pyrrha's three-way mechashift weapon.

Hazel ignored Sage, Scarlet and Fox, who had circled him and were now ready to attack his unprotected back.

All three swiped at his back, Sage with his greatsword, Scarlet with his cutlass and Fox with his two tonfas, each taking some of his aura.

* * *

Ozpin swung again, striking Lionheart at the side this time.

Lionheart fired a burst of flaming rocks at him in response.

There was a gunshot, making both look over as Arthur Watts fell over backwards, with a hole in his chest.

"He wasn't a fighter," said Ironwood. "I thought he would try to use his aura at least, but he did not."

The door at the entrance to Atlas Academy opened and Gobber emerged, hobbling forward with a metal crate in his arms. The symbol on the side indicated it was filled with an assortment of dust rounds.

He approached Ironwood and Ozpin as the others were still fighting.

"We're fine. No ammo is needed here. I've still got plenty, but thank you," said Ironwood.

"Alright then," said Gobber, before he turned and headed back inside.

Ironwood then gazed at the terrified Lionheart before he levelled his revolver at the traitor. "Surrender," the former headmaster of Haven immediately responded to this order by raising his hands into the air, his resolve entirely gone.

Ozpin looked over at Hazel, just as the man delivered a punch to Yatsuhashi, before looking at Qrow and Tyrian, who were fighting a fair distance away.

"Seems like we have a few fights still to deal with, Ironwood."

Ironwood nodded as he put his earpiece back in. "I wonder how the others are doing in the vault."

His answer came in the form of a desperate-sounding Jaune.

"Pyrrha? Pyrrha, stay with me!" There was silence, followed by Jaune speaking up again, in the next moment, sounding even more frantic. "Hey! Can someone get a medic? Pyrrha's been hurt down here!"

"I'll get a nurse from the infirmary to help Pyrrha," said Violet Peach into her earpiece.

This was heard by everyone in the group at the precise moment that Sage, Scarlet, and Fox slashed at Hazel's back.

They paused as they listened to what was being said, just as Hazel picked up Yatsuhashi as he was getting to his feet again and tossed him at the trio, knocking them down like bowling pins.

* * *

"Pyrrha? Pyrrha, stay with me!" shouted a desperate Jaune into his earpiece. "Hey! Can someone get a medic? Pyrrha's been hurt down here!"

"I'll get a nurse from the infirmary to help Pyrrha," said Violet peach.

The next thing the occupants of the cavern heard was a sound somewhere between a pained cry and a scream.

They all looked over at Emerald as she rushed towards Astrid. "You killed her, now you die!" She roared, bringing her guns up to shoot at her but didn't get the chance as the cavern was filled with bright silver light.

When the light faded, Ruby kneeled over, asleep while Mercury proceeded to grab Emerald's arm.

"It's over Emerald. She's gone. We need to go," said Mercury.

"No! She was everything to me! I'll kill her!" Emerald snarled before breaking out of Mercury's grasp and levelling her guns at Astrid again.

She focused entirely on Astrid, so she didn't notice the approaching axe before it had hit her in the side, removing a fair amount of her aura.

The next moment, Yang, Hiccup and Jaune were on her, Yang lunging forward with a punch, Hiccup with his remaining axe and Jaune with his sword, forcing Emerald to retreat.

The three didn't stop moving however, until a loud gunshot was heard, fired into the air by Mercury, from his foot.

"You have a gun in your foot?" asked Jaune.

"Obviously," drawled Mercury. "Will you be willing to let us go?"

"Your friend doesn't seem particularly likely to stop fighting." Yang pointed out.

"Emerald-"

"If you want to leave Mercury, then go. I'm fighting to the death for Cinder. She cared-"

"Oh wake up already," Mercury snapped, cutting her off. "She never cared about you or me. She only ever cared about getting those maiden powers."

"That's not true!" Emerald snarled, glaring at him with Hiccup, Yang, Jaune, and Astrid entirely forgotten.

Mercury rolled his eyes at that. "Go ahead, fight them then. I don't care anymore, I'm leaving now." He turned and made for the exit, not seeing Emerald level her guns at him as his back was turned.

Acting fast, Yang dealt Emerald a punch to the back, reducing her aura and making her shots miss Mercury just as she fired. Hiccup and Jaune followed up with a slash from their weapons, breaking her aura as their hits connected.

The fight ended when Astrid threw her axe at Emerald as she had at Cinder.

"We should help the others deal with the Grimm after we get a medic for Pyrrha," said Hiccup, after managing to tear his eyes away from the corpse that lay in front of him.

"Yeah," Yang agreed, before picking up her unconscious sister, just as Violet Peach finished descending the ladder at the entrance to the cavern, with a pair of nurses coming after her.

* * *

After tossing Yatsuhashi at the trio, Hazel stabbed more dust crystals, this time fire dust, into his arms before advancing on Neptune, Coco and Velvet.

Coco, Velvet and Neptune opened fire on him again as he advanced on Neptune, with the three having backed further away from him and split up, so that he couldn't down them in a single hit, as he had to Sage, Scarlet, Fox and Yatsuhashi.

Velvet's chosen weapon was now a hard light version of Crescent Rose, with which Velvet aimed at Hazel's head.

This made her the prime target, just as Coco's gun became empty and she had to reload it. Neptune noticed this before he also started firing at Hazel's head to keep him from realising that Coco was an easy target now.

Sage, Scarlet, Fox and Yatsuhashi got to their feet just as Hazel reached Velvet.

Hazel grabbed at Velvet, who leapt into the air above him, her weapon changing into a clone of Nora's hammer as she brought it down on Hazel's head.

The man reached up in an attempt to throw her to the ground. She had expected it, responding by using his hands as a platform to jump even further into the air, now wielding a clone of Yang's shotgun gauntlets.

She fired at his hands before landing behind him and charging up Penny's laser blast, successfully breaking his aura, before a shot to the head from Neptune's plasma rifle killed him.

* * *

After Qrow had initially rushed Tyrian, with the insane faunus doing the same, Qrow had made the first move, drawing his weapon and swiping at Tyrian.

This didn't deter the man in the slightest, as he slid underneath the blow, producing his weapons as he did so - four wrist blades, two for each arm on either side. There were two small guns concealed under leather between the blades, connecting them on both arms.

The pair of guns on both wrist blades slid forward as Tyrian passed Qrow and he fired at his opponent. The next moment, Tyrian stopped firing as he got inside Qrow's guard, forcing him to leap back to avoid the incoming slash at his throat.

The next moment, Qrow disappeared before the quiet flap of wings was heard and Qrow reappeared behind Tyrian, bringing his weapon down on his head.

The blow was blocked by the faunus's scorpion tail before Tyrian attempted to sting Qrow with his tail. Qrow turned into a crow as he had before, flying further off and transforming back into a human again.

Qrow then rushed Tyrian, firing the shotguns that were attached at the edge of his large sword as he ran at the faunus. Tyrian dodged all of them with his tail before rushing at Qrow as well.

Qrow slashed at Tyrian once more, with the faunus leaping out of the way to land on Qrow's sword and open fire at him.

A few shots hit Qrow's aura before Qrow punched Tyrian in an uppercut, reducing his aura amount in turn and knocking him off his sword. Tyrian landed and fired at Qrow again, as Qrow brought up his sword to deflect the bullets.

Tyrian then lunged, his wrist blades clashing with Qrow's sword as the faunus gave an unnerving giggle. In response, Qrow kicked at his legs, knocking Tyrian before following up with a series of punches to the face, knocking him back.

Tyrian stopped giggling as he clutched his face from the pain. Tyrian's next move came with a snarl, wrapping his tail around Qrow's wrist and tearing his sword from his grasp.

Disarmed, Qrow retaliated with more punches to the face, followed by a kick to his torso before he walked over to retrieve his sword. Tyrian was on him in the next moment, the sting at the end of his tail almost grazing Qrow, who transformed into a crow to avoid it.

Back in human form, Qrow fired at Tyrian's back while he was left open. He only got one shot to hit Tyrian before the faunus turned and lunged at Qrow, once more getting inside his guard and slashing at him, this time aiming for his chest and breaking Qrow's aura.

Taking the short window that Tyrian was left open, he kicked at Tyrian's chest, breaking his aura in turn before Tyrian turned and let his tail graze Qrow's side, leaving a cut in its wake.

In turn, Qrow's sword was introduced to Tyrian's back, killing the faunus.

Then, Qrow saw a red portal form on the very edge of his peripheral vision.

* * *

Weiss found herself not far from Atlas Academy as she emerged from Raven's portal.

"Raven- oh, you're not Raven." A voice said, sounding surprised and close to Weiss, on her left.

Weiss looked in that direction, where she saw an exhausted-looking Qrow with the corpse of a scorpion faunus on the ground behind him with Qrow's weapon embedded in the faunus's back.

The man happened to have a cut in his right side as he stood, seeming slightly unsteady on his feet.

"You! I remember you! Ruby said you were her uncle Qrow."

"That I am, Weiss Schnee. Care to explain why my sister decided to help you travel from wherever you came from to here? She's not exactly the helpful type,"

"Well she helped rescue me from the White Fang, so I don't care why she did it. Where are Yang and Ruby and everyone else?"

"At the school," said Qrow pointing at Atlas Academy in the distance. "I'm sure you can find your way there."

Weiss nodded in thanks and set off, with his footsteps soon sounding behind her as she walked towards the academy.

* * *

Adam nearly collapsed from the effort as he dodged yet another ice blast from Raven.

His aura was spent, he was on the verge of exhaustion and Raven was too fast to land a hit on, semblance or otherwise.

He had charged up his semblance after what must have felt like ten minutes but was barely even one, before letting it loose and watching his opponent almost stroll out of the way at her leisure as she toyed with him.

He gave a lunge, one of the many he had tried to get close and strike, but he met empty air for the umpteenth time.

She seemed perfectly content to let Adam tire himself out, responding with an ice blast to bring him closer, only to be just out of reach when he tried to land a hit. She had at first landed many hits, but Adam was now exhausted to the point that she was simply faster than him.

He had to ask before his demise. "How do you know my semblance so well?"

"I'm always watching," came Raven's smug reply, before she finally seemed bored of playing with him, sending an ice blast his way just as Adam finally collapsed, his energy was now finally gone.

Adam's aura broke, just before Raven's sword pierced him. She then withdrew her sword, cleaned it on his sleeve and left with a portal.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ren watched, slightly nervous, as Nora fired at any Grimm - Nevermore's and Griffons mostly - that fell into the crosshairs of the turret she had been placed in.

The turret was one of many that were a part of the large airship they were in. Each one was engaged in firing on the Grimm swarm that was swarming around the ship.

Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck stood nearby, not nearly as concerned as Ren at Nora's actions. They felt quite at ease in fact.

Apart from the noise of the turrets firing, the occasional thud of a Nevermore or Gryphon colliding with the ship after becoming suddenly wingless and the swirling black mass of the Grimm itself, there was little indication that there was a swarm at all.

"It does make one wonder Peter, why Vale can't buy a few of these ships," said Oobleck, chuckling.

Port responded with his own deep laugh. "It certainly would make life easier, Bartholomew. I think we'll be done here in an hour or two at the most,"

"I wonder how the others are doing on the ground," mused Oobleck.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ironwood's scroll rang. Taking it out of his pocket, he held it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Ironwood, we're going to be having a serious discussion about the video that was uploaded to the CCT. It displays some concerning facts, relating to the military's effectiveness against the White Fang under your leadership. We will be discussing this at length as soon as you have dealt with the Grimm. You will be lucky to still have your position as general after the discussion concludes."

"Is that all?"

"For now. You may wish to learn to control your tongue in the meantime,"

"I will see you then, head counsellor," came Ironwood's reply, before he hung up and pocketed his scroll again.

"They're not happy I take it,"

"You would be correct, Ozpin," said Ironwood before Weiss Schnee and an exhausted Qrow stumbled into view, the latter clutching his side.

* * *

Yang, Hiccup, Astrid and Jaune stood in the cavern while the nurses checked on Pyrrha, who lay on the ground nearby.

One of the nurses rose, shaking her head. "She's gone," said the nurse while the other looked at Jaune in concern.

"She can't be! Not like that!" cried Jaune.

"Her aura was depleted. She had no chance of healing the burns she received," the nurse replied.

"Try harder! She has to live!" said Jaune, his voice now begging.

"Jaune, I know you want Pyrrha to still be alive, but they're right, she's gone," said Yang.

Yang immediately regretted her words as Jaune shot her a withering glare and stormed off before she could apologise.

"Hey, firecracker?" Qrow said into his earpiece. "I've got someone you'd like to meet. Also, if someone can get me to the infirmary, that would be great," silence dawned after that, followed by a quiet thud coming from the other end.

"Qrow? Qrow! Are you still there?" asked Yang.

"He's unconscious, Miss Xiao Long. I'm taking him to the infirmary," said Ironwood.

"Get over here you dolt!" said a new voice.

"Weiss? O-of course, I'm on my way!" said Yang before she passed Ruby to one of the nurses and ran to the entrance of the cavern. Hiccup and Astrid watched for a moment before quickly following after Yang as she made her exit.

* * *

Later, after Qrow and Ruby had been placed on a bed in the infirmary wing of the academy, and the staff there had started to tend to them both, Yang turned to Hiccup, Weiss and Astrid.

"I'm going to deal with the White Fang. Can one you keep an eye on Qrow and Ruby?"

"No, we can't because we're going with you. It's not an offer Yang." snapped Weiss as Yang opened her mouth to protest. "I have more reason to deal with the White Fang than you do, in case you've forgotten. I'll be waiting outside for when you come to your senses." Weiss then turned on her heel and left.

"You heard her Yang. I'll go get Toothless and bring him outside. Seems like we've got a journey ahead of us," Hiccup and Astrid then left as well, with the latter going to find Stormfly.

Yang watched the pair go with a sigh before glancing at Ruby and Qrow. 'This isn't my day it seems' thought Yang. 'Well, time to go help some more I guess'

Minutes later, Yang and Astrid emerged with Stormfly trailing the latter. They both came across the sight of Weiss staring in bewilderment at Toothless as Hiccup leaned against the dragon's side.

"Oh do stop that," muttered Hiccup after Weiss started to stare at Stormfly in the same way. "It's going to get dark soon, neither dragon can see the best in the dark without some form of light nearby and the nearest White Fang base isn't particularly near. Plus, it is freezing out here. I'd like to get to where we're going now."

"We're not going to the White Fang just yet."

"Well, where are we going?" asked Astrid.

"My home. The Schnee Manor,"

Hiccup blinked in confusion. "Okay…" Hiccup shook his head, muttering something inaudible as he climbed onto Toothless. "Let's go then,"

Astrid and Yang climbed onto Stormfly while Weiss climbed onto Toothless, behind Hiccup. The dragons then took off side by side.

* * *

A/N: So quite a significant number of dead characters in this chapter, but I think you only care about one in particular.

RIP Pyrrha

Poor Jaune

Also, there is a new fall maiden since Cinder is dead. Arslan won't be coming into the story just yet, as there are some loose ends to fix first in this story.

Next chapter will be moving away from fights as brutal as these were and moving onto more lighthearted things instead.

Until Next Time.

Silvolde.


	35. Taking Control

A New World

Chapter 35: Taking Control

A/N: This chapter is going to be more lighthearted after the previous one.

I hope you all enjoy it!

* * *

Toothless and Stormfly landed outside the large building that was the Schnee Manor.

"So why are we here Weiss?" asked Yang after disembarking Stormfly, with Weiss, Hiccup and Astrid following suit after Yang.

"Because I don't want to fight the White Fang," replied Weiss.

"You… don't?" Yang sounded surprised at Weiss's answer.

"No, because if I do, if we do and fail, someone will die. Pyrrha is dead, I don't want anyone else to die." Weiss replied, sadness creeping into her voice as she spoke. "Like how my sister died." She muttered quietly under her breath.

"Still doesn't quite explain why we're here," said Hiccup.

"I intend to gain the loyalty of the White Fang and put a friend of ours in charge. I need to become the CEO of the SDC if my words are going to hold any merit. The person I have in mind happens to be on team RWBY by the way."

"Who? …Oh. No, that's not happening. No way Weiss,"

"You have a problem with Blake?" asked Weiss, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes, I have a problem with Blake! Where is she, Weiss? Not here! She ran away without telling anyone. If you're going to pick someone, pick Velvet or anyone else." Snapped Yang before turning away from the others.

Hiccup watched Yang for a moment before turning to Weiss and Astrid. "Why don't you two go inside? I'll talk to Yang."

They nodded, turning and marching towards the doors at the entrance to the Schnee Manor, but not before Weiss spared a sad-looking glance at Yang.

Once they were gone, Hiccup looked at Yang. "I know what you're going to say Hiccup," said Yang after meeting his gaze. "You want me to make up with Blake. Like I said in Mistral, that bridge was burned permanently."

"Not quite what I was going to say but it doesn't matter. Let me ask you, who would be a better choice to lead the White Fang than Blake?"

"Velvet. Or the other rabbit faunus, um…"

"Violet Peach." Stated Hiccup.

"Yeah, they are who I would pick. They didn't run away like Blake."

"Wouldn't that make the four of us hypocritical? We left Jaune at Atlas Academy to come here." Pointed out Hiccup.

"It's not the same. Besides, we're going back there soon." Countered Yang.

"Right. Well, I'm going inside. Have fun with the cold. Come on Toothless."

"Not like you to give so easily," said Yang, watching as Hiccup walked away, with Toothless following him loyally and Stormfly moving away from Yang to follow Toothless.

"Who said I'm giving up? I'm only going inside because it's freezing. I'll make you speak to Blake eventually." came Hiccup's reply.

* * *

Weiss entered the Schnee Manor with Astrid, the latter looking around at the large hallway while the former stared straight ahead as they advanced. They were walking quickly as they made a beeline for Weiss' father's office.

Silence washed over the room as the large, pale white doors swung open and revealed the once-believed-deceased Heiress, Weiss Schnee. Even all the old gruffled men fell silent as the clack of the Schnee's heels paced towards the table where they all sat.

"Wei-" croaked an older woman at the head of the table, with her alabaster hair dishevelled and stress wrinkled across her face. But her words died on her tongue as the stern and determined visage of her last remaining child glared back at her.

At the other end of the table sat the head chairman of the board at the SDC. He was a short man with wrinkled skin, dark hair, thick-rimmed glasses and an expensive-looking suit. He turned to look at Weiss as she strode nearer to the table while Astrid chose to remain close to the doors.

"Mother, chairmen." Weiss nodded at each of the occupants of the table in turn. "What's going on here?"

"Willow Schnee, you informed me that your husband was killed and there were no heirs - potential or otherwise - left alive." Said the chairman, turning away from Weiss to face Willow and waiting patiently for an answer.

The other chairmen also gazed at Willow, making the older woman wilt under all the attention that she was receiving.

"I-I thought she had been captured and k-killed by the White Fang." Stuttered Willow, still trying to process how Weiss had got here.

"That is not the case, as anyone could see," The chairman sighed looking at Weiss and Astrid. "Could either of you two please explain the situation?"

"Certainly chairman. My mother here is right in one regard. I was captured by the White Fang, Adam Taurus in particular. Shortly after this, the White Fang killed my father and younger brother, despite the promise from Adam that they would remain unharmed. Not long after my capture, an associate who shall remain nameless rescued me from the White Fang. I made my way back here as soon as I found suitable transport."

"I see." Mused the chairman as he looked at Willow and Weiss in turn before speaking again. "I shall inform you that since you are alive, you would be in a position to become the CEO in your father's place, provided Willow Schnee is declared unfit by the board."

"She can't become the CEO! She's too young!" Shouted Willow.

"You're hardly in a state to control the SDC either mother. You have a known drinking problem." Snarked Weiss.

Willow opened her mouth to protest. "That-"

"Is a claim we shall have to verify, miss Schnee. Please do not speak out of turn again." Interjected the chairman.

Weiss fought the urge to let out an angry retort, nodding in acceptance instead and trying to ignore her mother's smug expression.

"Nevertheless, such a claim would invalidate your chance to become CEO in Jacques Schnee's place, provided there is evidence that backs it up." Continued the chairman. "If you can prove your claim, that would clear up the matter, swiftly."

"Are you seriously listening to a child?" Asked Willow, her tone demanding.

"The Schnee family as a whole has been unreliable in business matters, as evidenced by more frequent Dust theft performed by the White Fang in the past year." One of the other chairmen who sat at the table addressed Willow. "Since this is a family matter, I am more inclined to believe miss Schnee."

There was a murmur of agreement that rose from the men at the table before one of them leaned close to whisper to the head chairman.

"My colleague here has just suggested that miss Schnee be assigned the position of SDC's CEO - while supervised in any business matter that could negatively affect the SDC - until the claim she has made can be investigated fully. Are there any objections to this idea?" Said the chairman.

Willow immediately rose. "Yes!" Shouted Willow. "She's a child! She shouldn't be put in charge of a company!" Weiss had the chance to smirk at Willow and grasped it firmly, with both hands.

"I meant any members of this board, Willow Schnee. That is why Weiss Schnee is being supervised. Do not speak out of turn."

No one besides Willow had anything to say, so the head chairman turned to face Weiss once again. "I hope the company will be in good hands, but we shall see. Good luck young lady." Said the chairman before he and the other chairmen rose and filed out of the room, leaving a shocked Willow, a confused Astrid and an excited Weiss in his wake.

Footsteps could be heard walking down the hallway, gradually getting louder as they approached the room, Weiss, Willow and Astrid were in before Hiccup stepped into the room.

The trio each caught a glimpse of Toothless as the dragon came to a stop outside the room. He had a curious expression on his face as he peered in at the group of three now turned four.

"There you are. This place is confusing. I had to check every room out there. How do you ever know where to go?" asked Hiccup.

"I must be dreaming. I thought I saw a dragon out there," muttered Willow.

"No mother that is a dragon, as much as I still find it hard to believe myself," muttered Weiss.

"So what happens now?" asked Astrid and Hiccup both.

"Well, I'm now the CEO of the SDC for now. But right now I don't want to do anything besides go to bed and go see how Ruby is doing in the morning," replied Weiss.

"I can agree with that," said Yang, from the doorway, surprising the four of them who spun around to look at her as she struggled to enter the room.

"Let her pass, bud." Hiccup instructed the dragon who immediately obeyed with a croon.

"So you're Weiss's mother." guessed Yang, looking at Willow who nodded.

"Can we please talk more about this later?" asked Weiss with a groan. "I need my sleep."

Everyone filed out of the room, wordlessly agreeing with Weiss as they each set off to find a bed to sleep in.

* * *

The next day, after the last of the Grimm, had been killed, Lionheart locked away, Pyrrha's corpse sent to the nearest morgue and Qrow tended to, Ironwood retreated to his office.

Ruby woke to find herself staring at the ceiling of the infirmary. Sitting up, she saw Hiccup, Yang, Astrid and…

"Weiss?" Ruby blinked and rubbed her eyes. "Weiss!" exclaimed Ruby, getting the attention of the quartet.

"Not so loud you dolt!" snapped Weiss before her features softened. "How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts, but it's not too bad."

Weiss nodded satisfied before Yang spoke up. "Think you can bring everyone else here sis? Weiss-cream has something she wants to tell them."

Hiccup, Weiss and Ruby all groaned at the pun. "What? You all don't appreciate great humour."

"Humor is all about making people laugh. Something that I've yet to see you manage, Yang," replied Hiccup.

"He's got you there sis. And no, dad doesn't count," said Ruby as Weiss and Hiccup exchanged a high five.

"Betrayed by my sister," said Yang, her expression one of mock hurt as Ruby got out of bed and stood up, making her way to the door.

"You'll live Yang," came Ruby's parting shot as she left the room.

* * *

"So we know that all of Salem's minions are dead, along with Pyrrha," said Hiccup when the others had arrived, deciding to speak up at that moment. "Raven also decided to rescue Weiss for some reason. Jaune is locked up in his room and Qrow was poisoned. Would anyone have a problem with using the relics to call the gods back tonight? I want this war to end, for Pyrrha and Glynda and everyone else." Said Hiccup.

"Agreed," everyone looked weary as they spoke in unison, gazing at Hiccup as they did so.

"Why has Ironwood locked himself in his office though?" Yang asked suddenly. Everyone turned to stare at Ozpin, each person looking curious.

"It's not my place to say. It's up to him to tell you," came his reply.

"I still can't believe Ozpin is still alive… in the mind of a fourteen-year-old boy," said Weiss, shaking her head at how odd the idea was.

"You should get used to it. We've seen and heard about some stranger things than that lately." Said Ren.

"Moving on from that, why did you have Ruby bring us here, and where did you four go last night?" asked Coco.

"We went to help Weiss with something," Yang said cryptically. "We got back not too long ago." She added. Following this statement, everyone then focused on Weiss.

"I have an idea for dealing with the White Fang, along with an announcement," answered Weiss. "I am now the CEO of the SDC."

"That's cool!" Squealed Ruby.

Coco gave an indifferent shrug. "Good for you I guess. What is your idea?" asked Coco.

Weiss sighed before continuing onwards. "I plan to reform the White Fang with the help of its founder, Ghira Belladonna."

"A noble venture, but not an easy one," said Oobleck. "Do you feel up to it?"

"Honestly? No, but it has to be done." Weiss then turned to face Klein.

"Can you find a few bullheads for all these fine ladies and gentlemen? We're going to Menagerie. Best not to waste any more time here than we need to."

Klein exchanged a knowing look with Weiss. "Certainly miss Schnee,"

"Wait, Klein," said Hiccup before turning to Weiss. "Do you need everyone here to go to Menagerie?" Asked Hiccup. "Because if you don't, I can find transport for you and one other passenger." Klein joined the others again as Weiss looked thoughtful.

"That would work," said Weiss.

"It can't actually since Sage, Scarlet and I want to meet up with Sun again."

"Alright then," replied Hiccup as he looked at the partial team in front of him and shrugged his shoulders. "Anyone else want to come?"

"I will also come along," said Oobleck.

"Alright, anyone else?" Weiss looked around at the others.

"I want to come as well. I think nobody else does, however," said Astrid.

There was a pause as Weiss waited for anyone else to speak up before continuing. "But I think someone should talk to Jaune about Pyrrha before we go."

"How about you? Since you lost your dad and brother yesterday. You'll remember what it's like to lose someone the most out of all of us," Velvet suggested.

"I can't. I barely know him," protested Weiss. "Ruby knows him far better than I do. But since she can't talk to him, for obvious reasons, I think his teammates should do it instead."

"He's locked himself in his room. How are we meant to get in?" Ren asked Weiss.

Nora held up her hammer. "Without breaking the door," Ren added, staring blankly at her.

"You're no fun," Nora replied, crossing her arms.

"Maybe Yang can go talk to Jaune," suggested Hiccup. "Isn't that the easiest option?"

"He probably won't want to hear me, and I wouldn't blame him," said Yang.

"Shouldn't you at least try it?" Coco asked. "The worst that would happen is he ignores you,"

"That's what I'm afraid of. But I will give it a try, even if I don't think he'll listen," replied Yang.

They turned and headed for the door, only for Yang, who was in front, to stop walking when she heard Jaune's voice.

"Uh hello, is it possible if you could teach me first aid? Particularly how to treat burns?" Jaune asked.

"What's going on?" Weiss asked from behind Yang.

"Just listen," Yang replied without turning around.

"This is about that girl that died. You seemed close," another voice said. Yang, Hiccup and Astrid recognised the nurse from the day prior was talking to Jaune. She had reported Pyrrha's passing.

"You could say that." Jaune sighed sadly before he spoke again "So will you teach me?"

"Of course, come on in-" there was the brief sound of footsteps followed by the sound of a door closing as their conversation became inaudible.

"You heard that right?" asked Yang, turning to face the others.

"Seems like Jaune will be busy for a while," answered Hiccup as the others responded with a nod to Yang's question. "Shall we go now, Weiss?"

"Certainly, let's go now." came her reply.

* * *

Menagerie, Hiccup decided as he looked down on the island from the bird's eye view provided by the bullhead he was standing in, was the best part of Remnant for its weather. It was neither freezing like Atlas was nor a furnace masquerading as a kingdom like Vacuo. It was just right.

The place also happened to have a wonderful view, with palm trees, canals and other such features. There was even an expanse of sand on the western side of the island, which Hiccup made a mental note to avoid when he noticed it as the bullhead circled the island.

The other occupants of the bullhead were Neptune, Sage, Scarlet, Astrid, Oobleck and of course Weiss herself.

"Where do you think the Chieftain lives?" asked Weiss, directing the question at everyone on the bullhead after the aircraft had stopped circling the island below and finished levelling out.

"I think he lives over there," said Hiccup, pointing at a large house north of the island which was surrounded by a forest and could be reached by walking along the stone path that came from the docks that were on the southern end of Menagerie. The house that they were quickly approaching and would soon be passing over.

"I think we should land there to find out anyhow," said Oobleck before instructing the pilot to land.

The bullhead began to descend, drawing the attention of faunus far and wide, who flocked to the nearest of the two doorways of the aircraft when it landed to see who had arrived.

Hiccup was the first to disembark, with the crowd watching him intently but parting when they noticed the axes that were strapped to each hip.

Next came Weiss, with the gaze of the crowd now turning suspicious as they watched her, but still let her go past, knowing not to attack the group, especially when Oobleck - a fully trained huntsman, disembarked from the bullhead after her.

It was a well-known fact that no civilian should fight a huntsman or huntress and expect to win. Each member of the group had a weapon in clear view, including Oobleck, who held a thermos flask in its flamethrower form.

The vast majority of the crowd that they passed through consisted of civilians, except for a pair of fox faunus and one Ilia Amitola, the latter wearing a White Fang mask. The three of them watched the scene unfold as they stood near the front of the crowd.

"What should we do?" asked Ilia as she watched the group move past as they walked towards the Chieftain's house. Her eyes narrowed in thought as she recognized Hiccup.

"Observe for now. We shall see what the Schnee has arrived here for," said Corsac.

Ilia blinked and looked back at the group again, having not noticed Weiss walking among them yet.

"We will learn for what reason they have chosen to visit our dear chieftain after they leave," added Fennec.

The group made their way along the stone path and up the steps leading to the Belladonna residence before Oobleck stepped forward and used the door knocker.

It caused a loud band to ring out before Oobleck stepped back and waited. A moment passed before the tall muscular form of Ghira Belladonna opened the door. He was wearing a large purple coat, open to display his chest as he had when Blake returned home.

"I wasn't expecting visitors today. Who are you?" Asked Ghira.

Weiss stepped forward. "I am Weiss Schnee, CEO of the Schnee Dust Company. I have an offer for you sir."

"CEO? What happened to Jacques Schnee?"

"My father was killed yesterday by members of the White Fang. I wish to speak with you to prevent further deaths from occurring as a result of any future White Fang attacks." Replied Weiss.

"An interesting request, and not one Jacques Schnee would make, were he still in charge of the SDC." Ghira smiled before stepping aside so the group could walk past. "Come on in, we shall speak in my office."

"Thank you, sir," said Weiss, nodding politely at him before she entered the house, followed by the others.

Ghira then took the lead, taking them upstairs and along the balcony that ran along the second floor of the house. They were then lead to Ghira's office to discuss Weiss's offer.

The room most notable feature was a large map on the wall behind a desk. Two bookshelves were placed against each wall, with the desk placed between them.

In the middle of the large room, stood a table with one three-seater sofa on one of its two longer sides and two one seater sofas of the same design placed near the table's shorter sides.

"Ghira? Where are you? I thought I heard the door knocker sound." came a voice from the balcony behind the group, prompting everyone in the room to turn around.

"I'm in here Kali. We have some unexpected guests," said Ghira.

Three sets of footsteps could be heard walking along the wooden balcony before Kali, Blake and Sun fell into view, coming to stand in the doorway of the sliding door at the entrance to the room.

The latter two froze, surprised at seeing who their guests were.

"Hello Blake," said Weiss with a rare smile directed at her teammate.

"Hey, Sun. It's been a while." Neptune greeted his teammate and team leader in turn as both Blake and Sun broke from their surprised state.

"Oh, are you all friends with my Blake? That's wonderful!" Kali cooed at the scene.

"Mum!" Said an embarrassed Blake Belladonna as her cat ears moved to press against her head and she flushed red.

"Weiss knows Blake the most out of us. They were on the same team." Said Hiccup while Sun advanced, proceeding to greet his teammates.

After hearing Hiccup's statement, Kali attention moved from the group as a whole to Weiss in particular.

"Oh, my daughter friends with a Schnee! I never thought I would see this day!" Kali's teasing demeanour then disappeared, becoming more serious. "It didn't go well at first, I take it?"

Weiss gave a cough, which sounded nervous to Blake.

"N-no. I wasn't the kindest person back then. If it wasn't for Hiccup here," she tapped Hiccup's shoulder to show who she meant. "As well as Sun over there, she might have gotten hurt."

"Hurt how?" Kali asked, and even Ghira was paying attention now, staring down Weiss with a scowl. The girl in question looked away under Ghira's scrutiny.

"Sun, Blake and I stumbled across a dust robbery where the White Fang and Roman Torchwick were involved."

"When was this?" Ghira asked, no longer scowling at Weiss.

"Almost two years ago, I think," replied Sun, having finished greeting his teammates.

"Well then, it appears I misjudged you when you first arrived here with Blake. Allow me to personally thank you for protecting my daughter, Mr Wukong," said Ghira.

"Ghira…" Kali prompted her husband. He blinked and looked at Hiccup.

"You as well," he added, nodding at him in thanks.

"It was no problem, Sir." Replied Sun.

"Polite and modest as well? Keep this up and I may start to like you, Mr Wukong."

"Yes, sir," Sun replied.

"Now, I think we should move onto the reason for Miss Schnee's visit." Announced Ghira.

"What is the reason?" Blake and Kali asked curiously.

"Weiss Schnee is now the CEO of the SDC." Doctor Oobleck interjected. "I never thought a student of mine would become the boss of a company as large as the SDC, at least not so soon, but here we are."

"And I have an offer to discuss with Mr Belladonna." Added Weiss.

This announcement was followed by two thuds, as Kali and Blake kneeled over for different reasons, both ignoring everyone who stood nearby.

"The White Fang's prime target… on the island where it came from… oh no." Blake muttered, sounding rather concerned as she sat up and began to rock back and forth.

Meanwhile, Kali seemed most pleased as she gazed at Blake. "My daughter… friends with the CEO of the SDC… Think of all the jewellery I can get…"

Ghira gave a long sigh as he watched his wife and daughter. "Maybe we should wait until they stop doing…that."

"Good idea," mumbled Weiss, not looking away from the scene as she addressed Ghira. "How about later today?"

"Sounds good." He agreed.

* * *

Ilia looked through a set of binoculars at the large house, dressed in black as she watched for any movement. She was entirely concealed from view as she stood on a thick branch in a tree.

It was now dark, but she could see a brightly lit room on the second floor that she knew to be Ghira's office. She had learned this after observing the man enter the room with his unexpected visitors earlier in the day.

"Any changes?" Corsac's voice asked through the earpiece she was wearing.

"None so far. I think they're still talking," replied Ilia.

"Very well. You know what to do if Weiss Schnee makes herself vulnerable." Said Fennec.

"Yes sir," said Ilia before both brothers fell silent and she continued to observe the room from afar.

After an unknown amount of time, the auburn-haired human that she recognized earlier emerged from the room, stepping out onto the balcony by himself.

Ilia observed him for a moment before putting her binoculars and earpiece on the nearest sturdy looking tree branch and heading in the direction of the house. She had questions for him that she wanted answered.

* * *

A/N: So as I'm sure I've mentioned, I'm back in College so delays could occur while writing the rest of the story.

The good news is that there isn't much left to write, so there won't be many delays if any.

Until Next Time

Silvolde.


	36. Endgame

A New World

Chapter 36: Endgame

A/N: For those of you that still read these author notes, the one at the end of this chapter is particularly important.

* * *

The sun had set long ago, with the sky entirely pitch black when the group met in Ghira's office for the second time to discuss Weiss's offer.

Four of them sat at the table, Weiss and Ghira sat in the one-seater sofas that were placed opposite each other, while Kali, Blake and Oobleck sat in the three-seater sofa.

Hiccup and Astrid remained standing along with Team SSSN.

"So, let us finally begin. For the benefit of anyone in the room who may have forgotten, can you tell us what exactly your offer is, Weiss Schnee?" Asked Ghira.

"I offer to increase the conditions for faunus working in any SDC mine. There would be other options, such as funding the construction of Menagerie's own CCT tower." Said Weiss.

Kali and Blake perked up after hearing this and even Ghira was surprised, judging by his momentary silence.

Ghira coughed before speaking again. "That is certainly an ambitious plan. Tell me, what has made you decide to do this? Anyone here can tell that supporting faunus miners wouldn't improve the SDC's bottom line, at least not initially, so why offer it?"

"I know that following in the footsteps of my father would mean further deaths on both sides, which is something I wish to stop. I have seen enough relatives die to know that my father's methods do not work. But I would most likely be like my father had I not gone to Beacon and met Blake there."

"Ah yes, I remember Blake recognised you earlier today. May I ask how well do you know my daughter? Tell me everything."

"She's was my teammate at Beacon and she became one of my closest friends, despite our rough start." Replied Weiss with a grimace at the memory.

"Rough start? Do tell." Said Kali, leaning forward as she spoke.

"We got into a long argument about faunus. It lead to our team finding out that Blake is a faunus and was a member of the White Fang. In hindsight, I should have figured it out sooner, because I remember seeing her cat ears move behind her bow before our argument, at least once." Said Weiss.

"Why didn't you say-" Blake was cut off when Kali brought a finger to her daughter's lips, silencing Blake.

"Then what happened?" Kali asked eagerly.

"I went into Vale, found Sun then Hiccup and discovered the White Fang stealing Dust, with Roman Torchwick in charge." Said Blake, after batting her mother's finger away.

"Then the three of you fought Torchwick, as you mentioned earlier." Guessed Ghira.

"That's right sir," replied Sun.

"Well, I think it is clear that you don't hate faunus, are nothing like your father and your offer to help Menagerie and faunus elsewhere is a kind one. What is your angle?" Ghira asked.

"Excuse me?" Weiss blinked in confusion.

"I mean, what do you want in return? As a member of the Schnee family, even one as unique as you, I'm not fully convinced you are doing this out of the goodness of your heart. So what is it that you want in return?"

"I want no more violence delivered by the White Fang and for my employees to enjoy working for the SDC. I don't intend to push any of them as hard as my father has done. I want no more and no less."

"Good answer," said Ghira, his thoughtful expression turning into a pleased smile after thinking about her answer. "Now that that is out of the way, allow me to suggest what support faunus may approve of." Suggested Ghira.

Weiss nodded and Ghira proceeded to list ideas with Weiss listening attentively to each one.

Hiccup quickly figured it would be a little while longer before they both finished talking, so he slipped away, heading for the balcony for some fresh air.

He went unnoticed by the others as they were either focused on the discussion - mainly Blake and Oobleck besides Weiss and Ghira themselves, or bored out of their minds and in a sleepy stupor.

Stepping outside, he stepped to the left, away from the room as he watched the tree leaves of the closest trees move ever so slightly in the slight breeze.

Hiccup observed them for a minute before turning to go back inside when a figure, dressed in all black, landed in front of him, in a crouching position.

Hiccup had already drawn his weapons before the figure spoke. "Wait! I'm not here to fight you." said a familiar voice.

"Ilia," Hiccup let out an irritated sigh but made no move to put his weapons away. "What does the White Fang want now?"

"Nothing, besides wanting to know why Weiss Schnee is here. I, on the other hand, want to know why you are here," answered Ilia.

Hiccup raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Really? A member of the family that the White Fang hates the most for how faunus' are treated is now on the one place in Remnant that is populated only by faunus and which also happens to be where the White Fang was founded, and you want to know why I'm here."

"Alright fine," Said Ilia a few moments later. "I am curious as to why Weiss Schnee is here. But I don't plan on telling anyone."

"Uh-huh. Sure."

"Anyway," Ilia continued, ignoring Hiccup's snarky statement. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here on this balcony to avoid the discussion going on in there," replied Hiccup.

Ilia rolled her eyes. "I meant, why are you here on Menagerie."

"Same reason Weiss is here. Moving on, what would happen to the White Fang if Adam was killed."

"They would mourn his death then pick a new leader and continue as normal." Said Ilia.

"Why?" She asked a moment later as she gazed at Hiccup in suspicion.

"Because Adam was killed by someone I know." Came Hiccup's blunt reply.

"You're lying. I don't believe you." Ilia snarled.

Hiccup simply shrugged. "Up to you. You can believe whatever you want, I'm going back inside."

He turned to leave but stopped abruptly when both Hiccup and Ilia heard the thud of someone landing on the balcony.

"Ilia, Corsac and Fennec are trying to talk to you, are you alright…?" the person who was speaking fell silent and Hiccup turned to see a faunus with brown bat wings on his back. He gazed at Hiccup before looking at Ilia and back at him.

"Ilia, please explain what's going on here now," said the faunus, not taking his eyes off of Hiccup.

"You're White Fang, aren't you?" Asked Hiccup, receiving a small nod from the faunus in response.

"Right." In an instant, Hiccup was running towards him, bringing his axes up to slash at his torso.

With a surprised yelp, the faunus jumped back, avoiding the attack.

Ilia still hadn't moved, her mind still trying to process the turn of events that were transpiring in front of her.

Hiccup slashed at the faunus again before turning and firing a shot in Ilia's direction. She jumped, not expecting the sudden noise.

She stared at him as she reached for her weapon. 'Play along' Hiccup mouthed and she paused for a moment before she lunged at him, quickly getting the message.

Hiccup fired two shots at the faunus in front of him, who ducked. Hiccup then turned to face Ilia, just as she struck him with her weapon.

Electricity coursed up his right arm from her weapon and Hiccup feigned a pained cry. The weapon appeared to be a whip of sorts that used lightning dust to generate electricity.

She was unable to capitalise on Hiccup's opening as Sun and Neptune burst from the room, having been alerted by the gunshots and Hiccup's pretend cry of pain.

Sun brought his hands together and two translucent versions of Sun ran forward and grabbed Ilia's arms, pulling her away from Hiccup and disarming her.

Meanwhile, Neptune proceeded to fire at the other faunus's feet, who leapt back to avoid Neptune's gunfire before turning to run to the edge of the balcony, just as guards arrived and made a grab for him from behind.

The faunus leapt off the balcony and the flap of wings could be heard as he disappeared into the night, just as the rest of the occupants of Ghira's office arrived, with Ghira himself being the first to get to the scene.

"What happened here?" Ghira demanded as he looked between Ilia and Hiccup.

The two clones of Sun had now disappeared and Sun himself was restraining Ilia, while Neptune stood nearby, with his rifle still at the ready.

"We had a pair of White Fang spies. One of them got away, but maybe this one can tell us more," said Hiccup, looking at Ilia.

"Will you be willing to tell us what you know, Ilia Amitola?" Asked Ghira.

"You know her?" asked Weiss, surprised.

"She was a friend of mine. I met her while I was still a part of the White Fang." Answered Blake before she stepped past her father and looked at Ilia. "So what is your answer?"

"If I told you, would you let me go?" Asked Ilia.

"Depends. I believe it is up to Hiccup since you attacked him." Everyone present then looked at Hiccup.

"She can go after she tells us what she knows about the White Fang. Don't give me that look, Blake. I asked her to play along, so it would look like she was still on the White Fang's side but captured." said Hiccup.

"That said, I won't go easy on you next time we fight." Hiccup addressed Ilia.

"Fair enough," she replied. "Shall we talk now?" She asked Ghira.

"Yes, bring her to my office, Mr Wukong." Said Ghira before turning to the two guards who had stood in silence so far.

"I want an increase in patrols around my house. Bring as many guards as necessary and check for any other intruders." The guards nodded and left before Ghira turned and entered his office.

* * *

"First question, why were you snooping around?" Ghira asked.

"I was ordered to spy on Blake." Said Ilia, staring at Ghira who faced her, sitting in the other small sofa and ignoring the audience that was observing her.

"Who ordered you to spy on my daughter?"

"Corsac and Fennec, but Adam gave them the order."

"What did Sienna say about this?"

"You don't know?" Ilia asked, sounding surprised.

"Know, what?" Ghira asked, his tone promising violence if he didn't get an answer.

"Adam became high leader after Sienna was killed by a huntsman. He sent a message about it to each branch of the White Fang."

"This is the first I've heard about that," Interjected Oobleck.

"Same with me," muttered Ghira. "Now, what are Corsac and Fennec planning next?"

"They were planning to capture Blake and deliver her to Adam, but that can't happen now since Adam is dead."

"Who told you that?" Asked Ghira.

Ilia stared him in the eye. "I heard it from a surprising source." Her eyes trailed to Hiccup after she said this, which was something that Ghira didn't miss.

"Alright, where do Corsac and Fennec usually meet with you and the other members of the White Fang? Tell me, and I will let you go."

"You want to go there, don't you?"

"Yes. I plan on asking my guests to join me as well."

"I'll tell you, as long as you try not to kill anyone."

"Agreed," muttered Neptune with a grimace. "I'd be happy to avoid killing anyone."

"I guess that's the best I can hope for." Said Ilia before she rose, crossed the room to stand next to Ghira and bent to whisper in his ear.

Once this was done, she passed team SSSN, Hiccup and Astrid, heading for the door. There was a sudden clatter, as her weapon hit the floor.

"I know what is going to happen next, and I know the White Fang won't trust me again after this, despite your attempt otherwise," Ilia said, looking at Hiccup before turning to face Blake.

"I'll be leaving Menagerie for good now. Good luck in whatever you do next, and thanks for the memories, even if they weren't all great. Goodbye Blake." Said Ilia, displaying a wistful smile before she slid the door open and she was gone.

"What are you waiting for? Go after her Blake." Said, Kali.

Blake needed no further prompting. She rose and ran across the room, not stopping for anything as she passed Hiccup and the others and reached the door, disappearing into the night after Ilia.

* * *

Corsac and Fennec were waiting inside a concealed stone building. Both fox faunus' were waiting behind the wooden door to the building.

Behind them, stood a table with a desk-scroll on top.

Moments later, they heard a knock on the door. Fennec, who stood on the right of the door, opened it to see a bat faunus waiting on the other side.

"Brother Yuma, what happened to Sister Ilia?" Asked Fennec, turning to the bat faunus after checking outside to see if anyone had followed him.

"She was captured. But I think she may have betrayed us." Answered Yuma.

"Betrayed us, how exactly?" Questioned Corsac.

"She was standing next to a human huntsman, but only made a move to attack him after I showed up."

"That does sound troubling." Mused Fennec.

"What should we do?" Yuma asked.

"Inform the others of Ilia's betrayal. We will prepare to fight, even our dear chieftain himself if we have to, to send Blake Belladonna to Adam." Replied Corsac.

Yuma nodded and left, leaping into the air and flying away.

"What of the Schnee? Do we send her to Adam as well or kill her?" Asked Fennec.

Before his brother could reply to the question, the desk scroll on the table behind the pair flickered to life, indicating an incoming call.

Fennec accepted the call and a masked faunus appeared on the screen, with a chainsaw placed on a table only just visible on one side of the screen.

"Max. To what do we owe the pleasure?" Asked Fennec.

"I am not bringing good news today. Our newly crowned high leader was murdered." Said Max.

"Adam Taurus is dead?" Corsac frowned. "What happened?"

"I believe he was killed by a huntsman or huntress, one who wields a sword or a blade of some kind."

"A huntsman or huntress who uses a sword or blade? That does sound like it would take a while to pinpoint Adam's killer." Muttered Fennec.

"There was also ice found on Adam's clothing, which does not make it any easier to find Adam's murderer. Some good news is that I have been voted the leader of the White Fang for the time being.

"Congratulations are in order then, I suppose." Mused Corsac. "What are your orders?"

"Nothing at the current time. I shall inform you when the time comes." Said Max before he ended the call.

It was at that moment that the pair heard the roar of a bullhead's engines, getting louder as the aircraft approached. The noise reached an apex before it eventually stopped, presumably when the aircraft landed.

Not long after that, the wooden door to the building started to glow orange, and heat could be felt as the pair drew near to it, before it was engulfed in flames entirely and a green haired-glasses wearing man wielding a thermos-flamethrower, burst through the door and batted them aside, knocking both to the floor.

The act was done in seconds and as easily as one would knock a hand aside, such was the skill gap between them and Professor Oobleck.

They let out pained groans in unison as they stared up at the man. Oobleck ignored them both, however, stepping aside as Ghira entered the room with Hiccup, Astrid, Weiss and team SSSN. Four guards, including the two from earlier, made up the tail end of the procession.

"I found out about your plot to spy on my household and my daughter in particular gentlemen." Growled Ghira. "Care to explain yourselves?"

They did not, both instead opting to remain silent and glare hatefully at him.

"Very well-" Ghira cut himself off when he heard the flutter of wings, followed by a quiet thud and then two sets of footsteps.

Ghira and the group quickly pressed themselves against the walls of the room.

Yuma landed outside, accompanied by a girl who happened to be a spider faunus.

They quickly entered the building when they noticed the space where the door had been not long ago.

Inside, they came face to face with Corsac and Fennec, who were on the ground near the middle of the room.

"You two are outnumbered. I recommend you both surrender now." Said Ghira, looking behind them.

Yuma and the spider faunus spun around to see several weapons, including two different kinds of axe, pointed at them. The pair then raised their arms into the air, surrendering.

Corsac and Fennec, however, had not surrendered. They jumped up and plunged a dagger each, into Ghira from behind as his back was turned.

This only resulted in enraging Ghira, who turned and punched both Corsac and Fennec, in spite of the wounds on his back.

The four faunus were then restrained together by Sun's clones and Ghira.

"Before anyone else chooses to fight, give up. Adam Taurus is dead." Muttered Hiccup.

"How do you know about that? Did you kill him?" Asked Corsac, drawing shocked looks from Yuma and the spider faunus girl.

"Me? Kill Adam? Really?" Hiccup laughed for a moment before wiping away an imaginary tear at the thought. "No, I didn't. Even if I could, I probably wouldn't. Raven Branwen killed him."

"Who is Raven Branwen?" A puzzled Fennec asked.

"Raven Branwen graduated from Beacon as a member of team STRQ, one of the strongest teams in Beacon's history. Raven is powerful enough to face Glynda Goodwitch, even when her semblance is in use. In fact, she killed Glynda Goodwitch." Stated Oobleck.

Ignoring the wide-eyed stares that he received from the four faunus when they heard this, Oobleck turned to Ghira. "Do we need to get medical aid for you, sir?"

"No, but I'll be fine for now." Assured Ghira before turning to the four guards he had brought along.

"Detain these four. Tomorrow I shall inform Menagerie of what happened here tonight." The guards nodded and approached the quartet. Each guard grabbed one, dragging their respective detainee to their feet.

* * *

Blake arrived at the Menagerie dock, to find Ilia waiting at the end of the line that trailed backwards from the ticket kiosk.

Beyond the kiosk there was a ramp that directed people to the ship that waited in the water, moving up and down ever so slightly, due to the water.

Ilia turned around when Blake approached. "You can't convince me to stay here, Blake."

"I'm not going to, Ilia. As someone who left home, I understand how you feel. Perhaps more than anyone else. What I will try to convince you on, is if you ever decide to come back, I'll be here for you."

"Thanks, Blake," Smiled Ilia.

"You're welcome. Good luck out there."

Ilia nodded and turned away, heading up the ramp that lead to the ship that was docked when she got her ticket.

Ilia then turned to give Blake a final wave in farewell, which was returned, before disappearing from view.

It was still night, so the ship wouldn't be going anywhere soon. Ilia ignored that fact as she searched for her assigned room. Upon finding one, she hunkered down and slept the rest of the night away.

* * *

Blake's scroll rang soon after Ilia disappeared from view.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Blake. H-how are you?"

"Why are you nervous, Hiccup?"

"Just, uh-"

"Give me that, you dolt!" Said Weiss.

"Weiss!" Hiccup protested, as his scroll was snatched by the CEO.

"You should get back home Blake. Your father was hurt."

Hiccup grabbed his scroll back from Weiss. "He can walk home by himself, it is hardly something she should worry about. Take my scroll again, and you and I will go on a high altitude flight, CEO of the SDC or not."

"I'm on my way." Said Blake, smirking to herself.

"Oh for the love of-" Blake didn't get to hear the rest before she hung up and started to walk home.

When she got there she found out that, as Hiccup had said, Ghira wasn't badly hurt. A pair of large plasters were the only first aid that he needed after each wound was carefully cleaned by Kali.

Since Weiss and Ghira had come to an agreement, there was little reason for the group to stay, so they prepared to leave.

Problems arose, however, when Blake insisted on going with them.

"You've barely been here for a week, and we haven't seen you in years! Must you go so soon?" Asked Kali.

"I won't be gone for long, and I'll come back right away."

"That's not the issue. Your father was just attacked. He should get to be with you while he recovers."

"Let her go, Kali. She did promise. Besides, the White Fang was trying to spy on Blake. We should let her travel with her friends for a bit, I think. She'll be safer there."

Kali huffed. "Ugh, fine. But you better keep her safe and make sure she doesn't run off, you hear me?" She said while staring Hiccup down.

"Mum!" Protested Blake, but went ignored by Kali.

Hiccup gulped at the unwavering attention he was currently receiving. "I-I'll do my best, Mrs Belladonna." He said before turning and addressing the others. "Let's go guys."

The group, with the new addition of Blake, nodded and set off for their Bullhead.

* * *

The next day, their Bullhead arrived in Vale.

Yang, Ozpin, Qrow, Ruby, team CFVY, Cardin, Violet Peach, Port, Jaune, Klein and Gobber were there already, waiting for the others to arrive. They were standing in the courtyard of Beacon with the four relics having already been delivered courtesy of Raven.

There was near-total silence, which was abruptly shattered when they heard the roar of a bullhead's engines, moments before the aircraft itself came into view.

The bullhead landed twenty meters away from the group that was waiting already.

Blake was the first person to disembark and set foot in Vale, which of course meant Yang noticed her former partner immediately.

"Yang, it's good to see you." Said Blake after approaching her teammate with Hiccup and Weiss standing not too far behind.

"I can't say the same after what you did, Blake." Said Yang, an edge present in her voice as her eyes turned red.

Everyone else took a step back, sensing the suddenly tense atmosphere and preparing for the worst.

Ruby walked over and nudged Hiccup in the side, gesturing at the scene. Hiccup got the message almost immediately. "I hope you won't end up in a fight right now." Said Hiccup.

"Shut up Hiccup and arrange the relics now," Snapped Yang. "This is between Blake and I. Nobody else is allowed to interfere."

Hiccup gave a long sigh and shot Ruby an apologetic look. "Good luck Blake." Came his reply before he proceeded to arrange the relics in a circle, with Jaune choosing to help him.

"Why are you here Blake?" Asked Yang.

"Because I wanted to see you."

"You wanted to see me." Yang snorted derisively at that before turning away from Blake, crossing her arms as she did. "You had every chance to do that when I lost my arm, but you ran instead."

"You two okay?" Asked Hiccup before Blake could say anything. "We're ready to do what we came here for now." He added, waving the relic of knowledge for emphasis.

"Sure, Hiccup. We're just _peachy_." drawled Yang, still not looking at Blake.

Yang strode over to Oscar. "How do we summon the gods back to Remnant, Ozpin?" she asked, attempting to ignore the concerned looks she received from everyone, Ruby, Hiccup and Weiss in particular.

"Hiccup just needs to put the relic of knowledge with the others, as Jinn said." came his reply.

When Hiccup did so, a large beam of light enveloped the four relics for a moment before it grew, turning the landscape entirely white as everyone instinctively closed their eyes at the blinding light.

When the light disappeared, the relics had gone, and two humanoids, who looked male, were left in their place.

The one on the left was a dark purple, with horns that curled back behind his head, while the one on the right glowed gold, with a crown of antlers on his head.

"Ozma," The one on the right announced, his voice resounding calm and deep as he stared at Ozpin. "I trust that this world is at peace since you have called us back?"

Everyone looked from the figure to Oscar, wondering what Ozpin would say. "Not quite, god of light," Ozpin said.

"Explain." the god of light's voice remained calm as he spoke.

"Salem has suffered a loss, but she could attack again in the future." Announced Ozpin. "Since she is immortal, we are at a loss at how to defeat her."

"A moment dear brother. I have found three who should not be in this world." said the figure on the left.

"Where are they, brother?" the god of light turned to face him.

"There. One of them wears leather and stands near the boy with the sword. The other two are the man with the hand of wood and the girl with the axe. They stand with intelligent creatures from their world."

The god of light looked at Hiccup, then at Astrid and Gobber, where Toothless and Stormfly stood. Both dragons looked curious at the two gods. The god of light then faced Hiccup. "Speak mortal, and explain how you came to this world."

Hiccup found himself suddenly nervous. "U-uh… I came here a few years ago, with Toothless. We found a red circle that brought us here, which I've found out is called a portal. I'm still not sure how that works-" The god of light raised a hand for silence, and Hiccup stopped talking.

"I shall find out what I intend to know another way mortal." said the god of light before he disappeared.

The next moment, Hiccup suddenly felt his head started pounding like a drum. It only lasted for a few seconds before the pounding feeling was gone and the god of light had returned, but it felt him feeling a little lightheaded and unsteady on his feet. Looking around, he saw Astrid and Gobber in a similar situation.

"You are known as Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third in your world. Your father is Stoick the Vast, chief of your village. The village and the island it is on, are both named Berk. Your mother is thought to be deceased but is alive, living in the frozen land to the north of your island. Your cousin, Snotlout, is a bully of similar manner to you mortal." the god of light glanced at Cardin, who looked surprised at the revelation, before the deity looked back at Hiccup and continued talking.

"You left for fear of being discovered with the dragon - who you named Toothless - by your village and being branded a traitor, where you would either executed or permanently banished. The following morning would be the day where you would have to kill a dragon, which you could not do in good conscience."

The god of light then faced Astrid and Gobber. "You, mortal had a part to play in Hiccup's exodus. You discovered Toothless and intended to tell his village, in full knowledge of the punishment he would receive. Hiccup, however, succeeded in convincing you otherwise, before you both found the cause of the raids that plagued your home."

"Finally, you mortal. You left Berk at the news of your apprentice leaving before you. You entrusted Hiccup's notebook to Astrid before sailing away, leaving your closest friend - Stoick the Vast behind, in the hopes of finding Hiccup and Astrid. Each of you ended up in this world in the same way that Hiccup described."

"I thank you for drawing this matter to my attention, brother." the god of light said before turning back to Ozpin, where the god of light spoke again. "Explain to me Ozma, for what reason should my brother and I deal with Salem?"

"It would bring an end to wars between humanity and the Grimm." Replied Ozpin.

"It would, but humanity would find ways to fight amongst itself, or even against us once more."

"We have had peace for nearly one hundred years now," said Oobleck.

"That is correct mortal. But how long would that peace hold?" asked the god of light. Blake brought a hand to her forehead, grimacing as she did so.

"The White Fang is an example of division in this world. They intend to kill, for faunus to gain subjugation of the humans. They have a personal vendetta against this mortal and her family." The god of light turned and glanced at Weiss. "How much longer would the peace hold with such an organisation in existence, which plans - knowingly or not - to bring it to an end?"

"The founder of the White Fang and I have agreed to make amends, while Salem is defeated. The peace will hold. I have made sure of it." said Weiss.

Weiss was briefly left with a headache. "You speak the truth mortal, it does you credit. Very well. You have followed my request Ozma, albeit with helpers, so we shall follow yours."

The two deities were gone for a moment, before the form of a remarkably human-looking creature - while still clearly matching the Grimm - appeared where the deities had been.

Salem looked around, confused at the sudden change of location. The moment prior, she had been in the Grimlands. Now, she found herself in the courtyard of Beacon, surrounded by people who were armed to the teeth.

"Hello, again Salem," Ozpin said.

"Ozpin." Snarled Salem, recognising the voice that emanated from Oscar's mouth. She made to advance on him but found herself suddenly paralysed.

Instead of the pair reappearing, the deep voice of the god of light sounded as he spoke.

"Salem, as you have been hell-bent on your attempts to destroy the peace that exists in this world for centuries, we have decided it necessary to return you to dust."

Salem let out an enraged roar, recognizing the voice of the god of light that had made her immortal so long ago before she was gone for good.

"We have followed your request Ozma. We shall observe this world from now on, with the hope that this fragile peace will be maintained." said the god of light and darkness in unison, while somehow everyone was able to hear both distinctly.

The group waited for either of them to speak again, but it soon became clear that the gods were gone.

"I think that this mess is now over everyone. We're finally free from Salem," said Ozpin, his voice filled with joy.

This announcement was followed by a loud cheer from the group, which lifted everyone's spirits, as they found this to be true.

"So what do we do now?" Asked Jaune.

"I guess we should tell Pyrrha's family about… you know." Said Ruby, nervously poking her index fingers together.

"Right," Replied Jaune, his eyes watering as the reminder ruined the moment for everyone, with Ruby shrinking in on herself and edging away in shame.

"We'll get through it as a team Jaune." Comforted Ren, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah! What Renny said!" Agreed Nora.

Jaune smiled a watery smile in spite of himself. "Thanks guys." He said before enveloping the rest of his team in a tight hug, ignoring the others as everyone looked on.

Meanwhile, Hiccup looked thoughtful as he watched the scene. That was what Astrid noticed as she approached him.

"What are you thinking about Hiccup?"

"Did you hear the god of light mention my mother was still alive? That would be good news for my dad when we go back there."

"Not exactly the best idea to go back to Berk with dragons, don't you think Hiccup?"

"She's right lad." Said Gobber, hobbling over. "Stoick isn't exactly easy to convince. Sure you can do it?"

"No, but killing the Queen of the dragon's nest and bringing my mother to see him again would help, don't you think? If anything will convince him to change his ideas on dragons, that will."

"And how are we supposed to do that? We don't know how to kill the Queen or even where your mother is. The god of light said she was north of Berk, but that could be just about anywhere." Astrid pointed out.

"We'll just have to look for her then. We at least know the rough area of where she could be. As for the dragon Queen, I think I know some people who can help deal with her."

"Really? Mind telling us who they are lad?" Asked Gobber.

"Not until I'm sure they can help. I'll let you know if it works out." said Hiccup. Gobber nodded and walked away, satisfied by Hiccup's answer.

Hiccup then leaned close to Astrid in order to whisper in her ear.

"I'll be gone for a day. I'm not opposed to us spending some alone time, when I get back, if you can wait that long." he said, his voice low as he ran a hand up one leg and gave her rear a brief squeeze. Hiccup smirked when he saw Astrid visibly shiver, eyes glazing over at the thoughts her mind conjured up.

Turning away, he mounted Toothless and both took to the air. The dragon roared happily after he received the instruction to go to top speed from his rider and favourite human.

By the time Astrid had recovered from the thoughts her mind had brought up, thanks to Hiccup, Toothless was already a black dot in the sky.

"You okay lass?" Asked Gobber, his voice carrying a teasing undertone after noticing her current state. She paid him no mind, still looking in the direction Hiccup had flown, before her mind brought up certain ideas again and she blushed, turning red and matching Ruby's hair.

* * *

A/N: And here we are - the last official chapter of the story. Just the epilogue left. I have two and a half pages on notes for that, so it may take more than a week to write, especially with all the college work I have to do.

Anyway, I'll be going now.

Until whenever the epilogue is posted here on fanfiction.

Silvolde


	37. Epilogue

A New World

Epilogue

A/N: Here we are at the end of the story. I hope you all enjoy this last chapter.

Edit: The sequel to this story, A Changing World, is up now if you've not heard about that already.

* * *

Following shortly after Hiccup's abrupt exodus, a limousine arrived at Beacon. It drew to a halt about ten meters away from the group.

All the doors, besides the one at the very back on the right side of the vehicle, opened as four security guards got out and surrounded it, two on each side. Each adopted a stance, looking in every direction for any possible threat.

Once this was done, the remaining door at the back of the limousine was opened by the guard that stood closest to it.

Henry Winchester then emerged, walking towards the group who were watching the scene with his guards following on either side.

"There are more of you now than when I last came here," Henry observed. "Where is Glynda Goodwitch?"

"She was killed." Announced Oobleck.

"A pity. What is the situation with the White Fang?"

"I am improving relations between the SDC and Menagerie." Said Weiss.

Henry scoffed at that. "I don't believe you. Jacques Schnee would never do such a thing."

"Jacques Schnee is dead. I am the CEO of the SDC now." retorted Weiss. "He was killed along with my brother and several other people by the White Fang."

"My condolences miss Schnee-"

"Spare me your pity. Just tell me what you want and leave." Snapped Weiss, her voice gaining an edge.

Henry nodded, turning to face his son. "Very well. Cardin, you're coming with me."

"Why?"

"All will be explained at the Vale council chambers since the rest of the council wishes to speak to all of you as well."

The sound of a set of wings was heard as Stormfly took off, Astrid and Gobber on her back.

"What was that?" Asked Henry, looking at the group.

"I'm sure it was nothing. Shall we go?" Proposed Oobleck.

"Might as well." he said before turning on his heel and heading back towards the limousine.

"Wait, can you give us a minute? I wish to discuss something with the others." Said Port.

"Alright. You have five minutes." Stated Henry.

Port motioned for the group to huddle up.

"I say screw the council. Where were they all this time? Hiding in some secret corner of Vale while our former students fought the White Fang and Salem's forces." Spat Port, gesturing towards the group as he spoke. "I say the council should listen to us, not the other way around. Who's with me?"

"To the death, friend." Said Oobleck.

"Seems like this is the winning side. I'm in." Said Qrow before taking a swig from the flask of alcohol that he kept in his shirt pocket.

"I'll stay with you as well." Said Ozpin.

"I'm in." Said Yang, punching her fists together.

"We should tell Dad about this. I'm sure he'd like to join in." Said Ruby.

"We'll go tell him together. C'mon firecracker, pipsqueak." Said Qrow.

"I'll join you." Said Ozpin.

"We're all in as well," Coco added. "Anyone got a problem with this idea?"

The rest of Team CFVY, SSSN, JNR, Cardin, Violet Peach, Blake and Weiss all shook their heads.

"Oobleck and Port. You both should go and speak to the council, in the meantime." Said Ozpin.

"I'm coming with you two as well," Violet stated, speaking up after remaining quiet until that moment.

"Me too. I want to see my old man's reaction when he finds he's not in charge of Vale anymore." Said Cardin.

"That's fine with me." Said Oobleck, in unison with Port.

"What about the SDC? Will I be able to sell dust to Vale after this?"

"That should stay the same. Only the leadership will change, Miss Schnee." Port assured her.

"That's a relief." Muttered Weiss.

Conversation over, the group separated from their huddle and approached the limousine.

* * *

Cardin, Violet Peach, Port and Oobleck sat in the back of the limousine with Henry's security detail and the man himself. Further in front sat team CFVY and SSN followed by team JNR and lastly team RWBY.

The limousine was entirely silent as the driver set off for the Vale council chambers.

It was a slate grey building with a steel-reinforced door. A fact that the four found out after observing the thickness of said door upon its opening. The group exited the limousine with Henry Winchester in tow as the four guards of his security then ushered them inside.

They proceeded to enter the council chambers inside the building after being led there by Henry's security detail. The council chambers was a large room built with rows of seating that gradually ascended above one another, allowing everyone to see the floor at the centre of the room.

"I am putting you in charge of this group since Glynda Goodwitch is gone. I was planning on making you her second in command, but since she is gone, I think you should take her place. I can see no one better for the job." Said Henry, sitting in one of the rows of seating.

"No." Said Cardin.

Henry paused, not believing his ears. "What did you say?"

"Are you deaf or something? I said no. I'm not going to lead them." Repeated Cardin.

Henry dropped all pretence of being polite. "You dare to disobey me?! I am your father, and you will do what I say!" he roared, striding towards the ground floor and Cardin, only to find his body minus his shoulder, neck and head, encased in ice before he could reach him.

"You sound exactly like my father. No wonder Cardin ended up as a bigot." Weiss muttered to herself before staring him in the eye.

"Let me go," he said firmly.

"No, I won't. This is something I should have done to my father, in return for what he has done to me. Sadly, the White Fang killed him first. I think I will enjoy this."

"You have five seconds to let me go or deal with my guards, Schnee."

"You're not in any position to make demands. Besides, there are huntsmen nearby. Your guards or any of these council members would be killed easily if Professor Port, Doctor Oobleck or any of us for that matter, decided it, a fact which you seem to have forgotten." The security guards who stood near Henry exchanged nervous glances at each other as if this fact had just occurred to them at that precise moment.

"Weiss Schnee is correct." Said Ozpin. He stepped forward, coming to a stop in front of Henry and staring him in the eye.

Henry and many others in the council did a double-take as they recognized the voice.

"Ozpin? How is that possible?" Gasped Henry, with his guards going pale at this piece of information.

"That is something I have no intention of telling any of you. Weiss Schnee will let you go, you will go back to the Vale council and you will disband it today."

"I will not disband the council, nor will I listen to the instructions of a dead man."

"Oh, I can assure you, he is not dead. Quite the opposite in fact," said Port. "I'd listen to him if I were you."

"The council will never stand for this!" Shouted a councilman, followed by a great cheer.

Qrow fired a shot into the air from his weapon in its shotgun form to silence the council, rolling his eyes as he did so.

"The council will listen, unless they want to deal with at least two angry huntsmen who believe they got one of the strongest huntresses, if not the strongest in Vale, killed." Said Oobleck. "She was alive before the council - you in particular - asked us to deal with the White Fang and now she is not."

"Did the White Fang kill her?" Questioned Henry.

"No, but my colleague and I blame you for her death all the same." Said Oobleck, with Port nodding along in agreement. "So will you do as we ask?"

"No, I don't follow the orders of terrorists."

"Terrorists? Well, I suppose we'll have to play the part now." Said Ozpin before punching Henry out and turning to the security guards.

"You work for us now. Clear?" They all immediately nodded, not fancying the prospect of being knocked out or killed.

"The council won't like this Oz." Said Qrow.

Qrow was proven right when a cry of outrage rose at Ozpin's action.

Port fired a shot into the air to silence the council this time. "We're the ones in charge. You can either work with us or leave Vale for good."

"Why would we work with you?" An outraged councilman asked, receiving a murmur of agreement from the council after he spoke.

The council members then started to leave the room, one by one.

"I thought at least a few of them would stay and join us." Muttered Oobleck.

"Well, one did. Even if he didn't want to." Said Qrow, looking at Henry's unconscious form.

"Seems you'll be getting your wish, Cardin." Said Violet Peach.

"So what happens now?" Asked Cardin.

"I for one would like to see an old friend." Said Port.

"Who?" Wondered Yang.

"Someone you know quite well, Yang, Ruby." Said Oobleck, looking at them both in turn. "He lives in Patch, so we'll be coming with you."

* * *

"So you disappear for about two weeks without telling me directly, had Hiccup not told me, I wouldn't know where you had gone at all, then you come back and I hear from my old friends that you have gone against the Vale council and you want me to do it as well," Taiyang stated bluntly.

"That's about it, yeah." Said Yang.

Taiyang pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "Which of you two came up with this idea?"

"Neither of us did dad. It just kinda… happened." Ruby said sheepishly.

"I think he meant us, Ruby," Said Oobleck. "But I would have said the same thing as your daughter."

"If that's true, then I guess I have no choice." Taiyang gave a sigh and brushed a hand through his hair. "I'm in."

Ruby and Yang cheered excitedly while Oobleck, Port, Qrow and Oscar all smiled. "But." Taiyang continued. Both Yang and Ruby fell silent when he spoke up again. "I'm not letting you out of my sight for a while. I want to spend time with my daughters."

"Fine with us. We won't be going anywhere, dad." Taiyang's jaw dropped.

"You know, I didn't expect you to agree to that so quickly. Should I be worried?"

"They've been through a lot lately, Tai. Don't question it." Advised Qrow.

* * *

John was busy repairing a weapon in his forge when he heard a high pitched whistle getting closer, from outside.

Leaving the building, he watched a black scaled, winged lizard, land in front of him, with Hiccup on his back. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, not believing his eyes.

"Yes, John. This is a dragon. His name is Toothless. He's a friend." Said Hiccup.

"…right." John opted to ignore 'Toothless' and focus solely on Hiccup. "What do you want? Another weapon upgrade perhaps?"

"No, I need the most powerful armour-piercing gun you can make."

"What kind of armour are we talking about here? Ursa, Deathstalker or maybe something smaller, like a Beowolf?"

"No, well… maybe? The creature I'm trying to kill is much bigger than those, though."

"Well, if you're looking to pierce something like an Elder Grimm's bone plates, I can get the schematics for Neptune's railgun, which has a lot of kick as it is, and work up from there." Suggested John.

"Railgun?" Asked Hiccup.

"It's a really powerful gun," John explained. "Allow me to demonstrate." The blacksmith said, motioning for Hiccup to follow him to the target range that was set up behind the forge.

"Wait here while I get my brother's old railgun." Said John as he went back into the forge itself.

Returning, he held a rifle in his arms. He looked through the sight above the barrel of the gun as he lined up a shot at one of the targets and fired.

The gun let loose a red beam of energy, leaving the target at the other end of the room with a massive hole, edged by soot from the beam of fire dust that had hit the target, as well as the wall behind it, through which the clear sky of Mistral was just about visible.

"Just what I need, John. How much?" Asked Hiccup as he turned away from the damaged target.

In response, John handed him the railgun he was holding. "Take this. My brother doesn't need it and it was collecting dust anyway."

Hiccup took the gun and looked it over. "Can I make some changes to it?"

"Of course, but it will cost you."

"I don't have lien with me right now, but I can pay as soon as I get some if that is fine with you?"

"This time and this time only. I've already given you that railgun for free after all. What changes did you have in mind?"

"Have you ever made a four-pronged crossbow before?" Asked Hiccup."

"Admittedly no. I'm more experienced with guns and mechashift weapons than crossbows."

"Then I guess I'll handle that bit after drawing the design. I'm planning on combining the railgun with a crossbow and a semi-automatic rifle."

"No worries. Let's get started on that then. Follow me." With that, John left the target range and entered the forge with Hiccup again.

* * *

Weiss and the others who remained - teams SSSN and CFVY plus Blake, Cardin, Jaune, Nora and Ren - could see Atlas closing in from the bullhead they had travelled in from Vale, after a brief stop to refuel there.

As the water below the aircraft turned to the familiar snow-covered land, Weiss turned to the others.

"I'm going to be dealing with some company matters, so if anyone wants to go to Atlas Academy first, let me know now."

"I do. I'd like to continue my training at the infirmary." Said Jaune.

"We'll go with Jaune," Ren added.

Weiss nodded. "Anyone else?"

There was silence among the group for a few seconds before Neptune spoke up. "I don't think anyone besides Jaune minds going to the SDC first Weiss."

"That's good news then. I have some employees to fire and a company to restructure. Today will be a day of change for my company."

The bullhead landed outside a tall building with windows that stretched upwards, letting anyone see inside. There was the word 'SDC' consisting of massive letters near the top of the building, something Weiss noticed upon looking upwards with the rest.

The group disembarked as one, stepping out into the freezing air and quickly entering the building through a set of tall revolving doors.

Once inside, they headed for the reception booth at the far side of the room near the back, next to a gate that required an ID badge to be scanned on the top.

Beyond the gate, a security guard stood with one foot leaning against the wall behind him.

The group, with Weiss at the front, stopped in front of the reception booth. The receptionist inside the booth was a sixty-year-old woman, complete with wrinkles and light brown hair with a significant amount of grey mixed in.

Before long, the receptionist looked up from the booth scroll she was working away on.

"Welcome to- Oh, miss Schnee! Come on in. Should I call security for her?" The receptionist asked, gazing at Blake, who glared at her.

Weiss forced a smile. "That won't be necessary. Are all the members of the board here today?"

"Yes. They are in a meeting on the top floor. I can have someone direct you to the room." The receptionist proceeded to open the gate and make a call to the top floor.

Weiss smiled at the receptionist once she was done. "Thank you. There was something else… oh, you're fired. Don't insult my friend here. It's the company policy from now on. Goodbye."

Weiss looked away from the speechless receptionist and towards the guard past the gate. "Escort her out." Ordered Weiss before she walked through the gate with the others.

The guard proceeded to follow Weiss's order as the group arrived at the lifts that were situated beyond the gate, next to the security guard's post.

Exiting the lift when it arrived at the top floor of the building, a woman in a business suit who looked to be in her early twenties, greeted them.

"Hello. I was asked to escort you to the meeting with the board members. Follow me." The woman said.

The group was led to a room on the very end of the top floor. The room in question had a long oak table, with a set of double doors at the entrance and a projector that would display a video call from the Schnee Manor whenever Jacques was late for a meeting.

The projector was currently not in use and the seats at the table were all taken beside one.

Every member of the board looked round when the double doors swung open and the group sauntered in, Weiss at the front.

The young woman who had escorted them to the room stepped aside as Weiss approached the table.

Most of the people assembled at the table, most consisting of old men, while a few were old women, noticed Blake immediately and grew displeased at the sight of the faunus.

Weiss noted that the head chairman she had met days prior at the Schnee Manor, who sat at the far end of the table, did not look displeased. His expression remained the same, unlike the rest of the board.

"This is an unexpected but not unpleasant surprise. How may I help you, Weiss Schnee?" He asked.

"I wish to inform everyone here of a new company policy that I wish to put into effect," Weiss stated, coming to a stop at the end of the table directly opposite the head chairman.

"And what would that be?" Asked the head chairman, raising an eyebrow in question as Weiss sat down in the sole remaining empty seat.

"That anyone here who has a problem with any faunus may leave my company. There will be changes in the future that they will have strong objections to."

"I do believe you were instructed not to make changes to this company that would affect it in any negative way."

"Mistreating faunus workers is already negatively affecting the SDC. It has been for years." Weiss countered. "Fixing the issue will only make things better."

"What makes you so sure about that?" A chairwoman sneered in utter contempt. "There is no guarantee that your plan will work."

"I won't deny there are risks involved, but the plan is in motion. I have already spoken to the chief of Menagerie. He has agreed to bring the White Fang to heel, in return for fair treatment of faunus employees in the SDC."

At this, all of the board members, minus the head chairman, stood up and left the room.

"I will not stay and watch a mere child drive this company into the ground." The chairwoman spat as she left.

'Good riddance' thought Weiss before realizing the head chairman hadn't moved from his seat.

"You're not going to leave, are you?"

"No. I instructed you not to do anything that would affect the SDC in any negative way, not as a command, but to placate the rest of the board. Had the White Fang not killed your father, he would have found himself removed as CEO, on account of money lost due to bad PR relating to faunus."

The chairman paused before his expression morphed into a tiny smile. "It's nice to see you fixing, rather than pretending it isn't an issue that exists as was your father's most common approach."

"Thank you." Replied Weiss.

"Now, why don't you and your friends sit down and tell me more about what you plan on doing next with the SDC." He suggested.

"I-" Weiss fell silent when her scroll started to ring. "One moment please," Weiss said politely before taking out her scroll and answering the call.

"Hello?"

* * *

Hiccup stepped out of the forge, scroll in hand to call Weiss.

"Hello?" Came the Heiress's voice when the call connected.

"Hey, Weiss."

"Hiccup. How are you?" She greeted him.

"You're sounding cheerful right now. You okay?"

"Fine. Why do you ask?"

'Because being cheerful and energetic is a distinctly Ruby thing, and you're not usually like her?' Hiccup thought to himself.

"No reason." He lied. "So listen, can I ask a favour?"

"Depends on what it is."

"It's the cost of a weapon I made, with some help."

"Consider it done. Let me pay it now."

"Alright." Hiccup re-entered the forge and handed his scroll to John.

"What's this for?" He asked, confused.

"A friend of mine who has decided to pay for the railgun."

John nodded and held the scroll to his ear to speak with Weiss.

Once the weapon was paid for, John handed Hiccup his scroll back.

"Seems you have friends in high places. Lucky you." John then handed Hiccup the railgun/rifle/crossbow mechashift weapon.

"Lucky me indeed," Hiccup muttered before leaving the store.

"I do wonder why you need another weapon." Said Weiss, the call still ongoing as Hiccup set out towards the safehouse where he had stayed previously.

"Getting rid of a pest. Think the dragon equivalent of Salem not far from my home. I plan to kill her."

"…Got it."

"Hey, you were the one who asked me, Weiss."

A squawk was heard as Stormfly came in for a landing before Weiss could respond.

"What was that?" Asked Weiss when she did reply.

"Someone I know quite well. Talk to you later Weiss." Hiccup hung up, pocketed his scroll and slung his new weapon over his shoulder. John had taken the liberty to attach a shoulder strap to it, to make it easier to carry.

He then approached Astrid and Gobber as they disembarked.

"How did you find me?"

"Stormfly is a tracker dragon. I just told her to follow Toothless' scent and she led us here." Said Astrid.

"I thought Deadly Nadders were part of the sharp class."

"They used to be until we found out they can track quite well, so they became part of the tracker class. Anyway, I see you came here to make a new weapon to kill the Queen of the dragon nest. Does it work?" Asked Astrid, sounding hopeful and curious.

"It was able to cut through part of a building, so I'm sure it will." Replied Hiccup.

"That's great. Now, if you'll excuse us Gobber, Hiccup promised me some alone time…" Astrid proceeded to drag Hiccup away.

"Where are we going?" Hiccup asked.

"To the house where we stayed the last time we came here."

"Eager are we Milady?" Hiccup teased.

"You bet Hiccup."

* * *

Hiccup stared up at the ceiling of his hotel room, a wide-eyed and euphoric look on his face. He was breathing heavily and covered with sweat. Beside him, an equally exhausted Astrid lay on her stomach, resting her head on his shoulder, one arm draped over him as she gazed sweetly over at him.

They were both quite naked under the covers, with their clothing tossed in various places in the room.

"Wow…" Hiccup exhaled, his heart still beating profusely in his chest.

Astrid nodded her head beside him, still appearing to be a little too tired for words.

"That…" Hiccup breathed, shaking his head as he searched for the words to use. "That was…"

"Incredible?" offered Astrid, now finding her voice.

"Yeah, exactly." Hiccup chuckled. "You know when I did… that back at Beacon before flying away on Toothless, I didn't think you'd want to go this far with it."

"Well, I did. Though I have thought about doing this before you know."

"How much exactly? I-If you don't mind me asking.

"I lost count a while ago honestly. Have you seen yourself lately?" Astrid grinned.

"I haven't actually. How do I look?" Asked Hiccup, sitting up and striking a bodybuilder's pose

Astrid fought the urge to giggle as she looked at him. "Incredibly handsome babe."

"Why thank you Milady." The pair gazed at each other before both burst out laughing.

"Right. So what now?" he asked, once their laughter had subsided.

"I'd love to go another round if you're feeling up to it?"

It was not to be, as Hiccup's scroll started to ring from the floor. "Hold that thought," said Hiccup as he rose and picked it up. Unbeknownst to him, Astrid watched him intently as he did so.

"Hello?" Hiccup began before starting to talk to the person on the other end, his face changing from an expression of happiness to one of sadness as well as a brief flash of anger as he spoke.

"Right. Okay. I'll see you and everyone else tomorrow then." he sighed as he hung up.

"What's wrong Hiccup?"

"Just got a call from Weiss. She's asked Simon to hold Glynda's funeral tomorrow. Pyrrha's as well. She's also invited Pyrrha's parents and Jaune's family to it. That kinda ruins the mood, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does." Astrid sighed in disappointment. "We should go find Gobber and our dragons now, I guess."

"No need." Gobber called out to them from outside the room. "I'm already here. Your dragons are frolicking outside by the way."

"When did you get here?" Hiccup asked.

"A while ago. You two aren't exactly quiet." This statement caused the pair to blush heavily.

"Gobber!" Both shouted, completely embarrassed, much to the extrovert's great amusement.

* * *

A shovel hit the soft dirt before it was lifted, taking some of the dirt with it.

The dirt was tossed aside and the action was repeated, the beginnings of a grave forming in the ground.

Once the grave was completed, the person digging walked to the left, handed the shovel to another and the whole process began once more.

When this was finished, the person threw the shovel aside and stepped back, joining the others who had stood watching.

Teams RWBY, CFVY, SSSN, JNR, Cardin, Violet Peach, Port, Oobleck, Qrow, Taiyang, Ozpin, Ironwood, Simon and even Rachel, the Headmistress of Shade, had all arrived for Pyrrha Nikos and Glynda Goodwitch's funeral, which Simon, the headmaster of Haven had overseen the arrangements for.

Ozpin stepped forward and began to talk about Glynda and Pyrrha.

Standing outside of the group, on their right, stood Pyrrha's parents and Jaune's family, both of whom had received a bullhead to bring them to Mistral the day before, paid entirely by Weiss of course.

Pyrrha's mother was the most upset out of the pair, crying openly, while her father tried to console his wife.

The coffins were lowered into the two graves, Ozpin's speech came to an end, and the coffins were buried.

"Which of you is Jaune Arc?" Pyrrha's father asked, not turning around while rubbing his wife's back to console his wife.

"I am, sir." Answered Jaune.

"Come over here. I'd like to talk to you." Jaune shrugged before heading over to the man.

"What is it sir?" asked Jaune.

"Call me Leonidas, as it's my name, Jaune."

"Okay, Leonidas."

"I'd like to thank you for being there for my daughter."

Jaune quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I remember getting a call a while back, from my daughter. She told me she was happy that she had found someone who treated her the same as anyone else. She certainly sounded happier than I had heard her in years. Sometime later, she called me again, this time telling me that she was dating that same person. I remember thinking that it must have been a special person if she could sound that happy."

"I-I'm sure it wasn't all me," Jaune said quickly.

"Don't be so modest, Jaune." This time, it was Pyrrha's mother who had spoken, staring him in the eye with a tear-stained face. "Anyway, what my husband is taking his sweet time in saying, is we consider you a friend of our family. I hope you find someone out there that you get as close to as you were with my daughter, Jaune."

"I will, Mrs…?"

"Call me Athena, we're friends now after all. Now, I should go before I cry even more. Nice meeting you Jaune." she smiled.

"You as well," he replied with a smile before they parted ways.

* * *

Roman was kicked awake by a foot when it was introduced to his side.

He jerked awake, blinking as he stared up at the person the foot was attached to.

"Get up. Raven wants to see you." Ordered Vernal. She then left the tent with a glance at Neo, who was still sleeping beside Roman.

"You called me?" Roman asked Raven, upon entering her tent with Neo skipping happily alongside.

Raven nodded. "Yes. My tribe is going to expand in Mistral. You, Vernal and Neo will be overseeing it."

"Fun. Where will be expanding to first?"

"Kuroyuri. It will be our new headquarters. The tribe will be moving there first."

"Alright then. When do we leave?"

"Right now. I have an associate to speak with." Raven then turned to Vernal.

"Make sure they don't screw this up. I'll be checking in on them later." Vernal nodded and Raven was gone in one of her characteristic portals of red.

* * *

Some time after the funeral, Hiccup, Astrid and Gobber were greeted by the familiar sight of a red portal as they stood near Toothless and Stormfly.

Both dragons and their respective riders plus their passenger were ready to leave on yet another journey.

"Hello, Raven." Said Hiccup.

"Hello. Ready to leave I see." Said Raven, eyeing the dragons.

"Yes. How is it that you always show up at the most convenient times?"

"I happened to be in the area." She replied absently, eyeing the crossbow slung over Hiccup's left shoulder. "You have a crossbow. Since when?"

"Since yesterday. Why?"

"If it's a mechashift weapon, then I think we can make a deal."

"A deal on what exactly?"

"You repair and make weapons for my tribe, in exchange for moving between Remnant and your world any day you wish."

Hiccup sighed. "Fine. I used to have a forge in Vale. It was destroyed by an explosion caused by a bomb, but you might be able to use whatever is left of it. If you do find something useful, bring it to me and I'll get started on making weapons for you. Otherwise, I'll start to make my own forge when I get there."

"Pleasure doing business with you," Raven smirked. "Now, I have places to be. I'll leave a portal for you all to use in the meantime."

When Raven was gone, Hiccup took out his scroll and began typing out a text.

"What are you doing?" Asked Astrid.

"You didn't think I would leave without saying goodbye to my friends, did you Milady?" Hiccup hit 'send to all' before pocketing his scroll again.

"Let's go now." And with that, the five of them, three being human and two reptilian in nature departed Remnant.

Over in Patch, Yang stoor at the hill in front of her house.

Yang's scroll suddenly chimed, notifying her of a text. It read as follows:

'When you get this, I will have left Remnant to visit my family. I will come back eventually, but until then, I wish you all good luck in whatever you decide to do next.

See you soon.

Hiccup.'

Yang glanced at Ruby who stood in front of her, slightly hunched over Summer Rose's grave, unaware of the text her sister had received.

'Good luck indeed.' Yang thought, scoffing internally.

She'd be needing it the moment Ruby found one of her closest friends had left.

"Yang? Why are you staring at your phone like that? Did you get a text?"

Oum damn it…

* * *

A/N: So this story is now well and truly finished.

I thank you all for staying with the story for so long.

There will be a sequel to this story. I have a preview of a scene I enjoyed writing.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

* * *

Mildew found himself tied up and staring at the floor in a kneeling position when he woke up.

"Welcome back to the land of the living. You likely won't be with us much longer." A voice drawled.

Mildew looked up at the person who had spoken. It was that runt, who had tried to change anything when he arrived.

"Untie me boy." Snarled Mildew.

"What is it about hostages that makes them think they have any right to demand anything?"

Hiccup pressed a button near the trigger of the crossbow and it started to glow yellow as lightning coursed along part of the weapon. "Since killing people is a new thing for me, I'll ask one last time. Will you learn to live with dragons?"

Mildew stared him in the eye. "No. Do what you're going to do, boy."

"Alright, you've called my bluff. I won't kill you. You're lucky I won't kill in cold blood."

"Then I suppose you will have to let me go." Mildew said smugly.

"No. I won't kill you, but what happens to you isn't up to me now. I have allies, the chief of Berk for one. He'll decide what happens to you."

"He's on the other side of Berk."

The door to Mildew's hut opened. "Actually Mildew," Stoick began as he entered, having been standing outside the door to Mildew's hut the whole time and had heard their conversation. "I'm right here. You are to be brought before the council of the village for trial today."

"I would rather die than be judged by a council of dragon lovers. You've all broken tradition." Spat Mildew.

"You brought that madman Drago Bludvist here, who murdered a significant number of Berk's best warriors during the battle. You yourself have broken the rules. I am well within my rights to have you blood eagled on the spot. Don't give me an excuse to do so."

"By all means do it, Stoick. I welcome it. If I may make a request, however? Teach your son to respect his elders."

"Wait, dad." Hiccup interrupted before Stoick could retort, for he knew he would be furious. He already was, judging by his expression. "I've got an idea."

Stoick expression turned from anger to curiosity before Hiccup motioned for Stoick to follow him as he stepped away from Mildew. The pair edged out of Mildew's earshot, conversing with each other for a few moments before turning to approach Mildew again.

"My son has proposed a spar to the death between you and him. Do you accept this?" the chief asked, turning to Mildew.

"Absolutely Stoick."

"Very well. I shall inform the village of the news and your decision here." Stoick then turned and left Mildew's hut without another word.

"You should prepare for the hardest spar in your life. Knowing what I know about my skill at fighting compared to yours, your best option is to flee."

* * *

That preview has been in my head for quite a while. It would most likely have driven me insane, had I not written it. That is the shortened version of what I had planned to show you. I decided against showing the rest, as I plan on showing more when I'm ready to start posting the sequel here on .

From what I can tell so far from planning the sequel, it is likely to be just as long as A New World, if not longer. I've also got a title for the sequel - A Changing World.

Anyway, I look forward to the reviews for this epilogue as I sign off for the last time.

See you guys again when I post the sequel.

Silvolde


End file.
